Jan 14th 2009 By Tom Radler

Couple Arrested for Keeping Bank Error Loot

If you found a wallet on the street that contained $177,250, would you turn the presumably enormous billfold in? A situation similar to that scenario actually happened to a Pennsylvania couple, who allegedly decided to play finders-keepers.

Fifty-year-old Randy Pratt and 36-year-old Melissa Pratt didn't call the bank when a glitch accidentally put an extra $177,250 in their account. Instead they withdrew the money, quit their jobs and moved to Florida, where they were in the process of buying a home when the mistake was discovered.

The error happened when a deposit for $1,772.50 mistakenly had a couple of extra zeros tacked on during bank processing. Melissa Pratt claims she was unaware of the glitch -- saying that her husband, a roofer, often got large checks. The two have been charged with theft and are being held on $100,000 bail.

We don't have the Pratts' mugshots, but we can only hope their booking photos are as amazing as the ones below.

The Greatest Mugshots

Patrick Tribett, aka, "Goldy." Busted at an Ohio dollar store trying to get more spray paint. We can only hope he was attempting to get the color, "Flesh," so he could tidy himself up before going to an art museum or dinner party.

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We have no idea what happened to "Head Brace Man." However, his facial expression makes it look like his arrest was nothing compared to the physical trauma that requires one's head to be bolted in place.

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The Godfather of Soul. Timeless classic.

Larry King, arrested 1971 in Florida on a grand larceny charge and passing bad checks. Apparently, CNN doesn't do background checks.

Chris Kemp here bears an uncanny resemblance to the character Butthead from "Beavis and Butthead." Though he was arrested for burglary in Oregon, The Smoking Gun speculates that he may have also assaulted a brier patch.

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Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros, aka, "The Lost Girls." Not only were both busted in Honolulu in 2005 on DUI charges, the pair also showed up for their booking photos with glowing red orbs for eyes.

ZUMA Press (2)

Until someone gets busted wearing our narwhal T, this guy holds the Asylum award for Greatest T-shirt to Wear to a Booking.

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Henry Earl, arrested in Fayette County, Kentucky over 1,300 times. Thanks to his diligent work in the field criminal public drunkenness, Mr. Earl's lifetime achievement is unparalleled.

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Paul Reubens aka Pee-wee Herman. It was a sad day at the Playhouse when Pee-wee was charged with indecent exposure at an adult movie house in Florida. Like James Brown, this one is also a classic.

Eric Rogers aka "Meringue Face" was arrested for public drunkenness in Kentucky. It's speculated that his awesome make-up job is paint-related, and that no pies were actually involved.

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Tags: bank error - BankError - banks - cash - money

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Wednesday 14 January

By Linda Ward

Neutral

Oooooh..a tough one considering todays economy. Sounds mighty tempting to keep the money but I always believe in karma and the mistake will someday somehow be discovered and I wouldnt want to watch my back or not being able to sleep at night in fear of getting caught. Especially that I have children, what does that teach them? No I couldnt live with it..to think the bank teller will be in big trouble too. I did a stint as a bank teller and it was nerve wracking to be dealing with large sums of money that is not mine. The bank is a service to their customers to hold their money, THEIR money...this wasnt this couples money and eventually , they will be caught. Keep their nose clean and they can enjoy what they have....even if its not much.

Tuesday 24 February

By Dani

Highest Rank

It could be tempting with today's economy. But when opening an account you are given a sheet of agreements to which you agree to when you begin using the account. One of the things listed are bank errors in this regard, making it illegal to withdrawal errored funds and *making a good life somewhere else*.

You should always read what you are agreeing to before thinking you could make off with free money.

Friday 16 January

By drambuie

Highest Rank

HOw is it a tough one? Give me a break. 1 question? Was it their money? Don't stand on the fence...pick the side!!!

Wednesday 14 January

By AB

Highest Rank

Well, it should have been obvious to the couple that the money wasn't theirs and it was a mistake by the bank. But they shouldn't be charged with a crime because the bank put the money in their account, albeit, accidentally. In my view, that's similar to a law enforcement agency causing a group to commit a crime and then arresting them for doing it. It don't fly with me. The couple should be made to give the money back, but they shouldn't be charged with anything because the bank caused them to commit the theft when the couple wouldn't have otherwise committed it.

Thursday 15 January

By Christina

Highest Rank

I recently had money deposited in my account that did not belong to me. I called the bank and they insisted that the money was mine. I called a couple of days later, again, they insisted that the money was mine. I called 2 weeks later, still insisted that the money was mine. I moved the money to my savings account knowing that eventually they would catch the error. Within 3 days they withdrew the money from my checking account and charged me overdraft fees that their error caused. I called the bank and advised them that this had happened and they were unwilling to give me back my fees. They told me that it was not my money and it should never have been touched. I advised them that I moved it to my savings account (which is at the same bank), they could see that I did this and they still would not give me back the fees. I knew that if it was in my checking then I would have the urge to use it. They still didn't care. Bottom line, I was charged for their mistake. They are not genius so they shouldn't expect us to be.

Thursday 15 January

By D

Highest Rank

Please, no one caused them to "commit a theft". Its all about personal choice. They knew it wasn't their's.

Friday 16 January

By drambuie

Highest Rank

At the end of the day, it is highly unlikely that they did not realize it was an error. Either way, they need to return the money. It simply is not theirs. Banks are "for Profit" entities and whether we like it or not, that isn't going to change. Bottom line, it's fraud...voluntary or involuntary. There in lies the question.

Friday 16 January

By Trun

Highest Rank

They withdrew the money, quit their jobs, and moved to another state. Sounds like they knew damn well it was a glitch, and tried to make off with it.

Friday 16 January

By Mayi

Highest Rank

That is true so they must pay for the choice they made, technically they rob the bank with the banks help. And instead of saying to the bank there is an error to my account as they would if they had money missing they chose to take off with the money and went as far as quitting jobs and moving to a whole new state like the bank wouldn't find them...........

It's a crime and they should do the time for there poor choices, That's why GOD gave us free will. I'll pray for them that next time this should happen they would do the right thing, cause with this economy the way it is they really don't know how many families it affected while the bank worked to fix the error.....

God Bless,

Mayi

Friday 16 January

By Sam

Neutral

it was a bank error that put the extra money in their ban k account, it became a crime when they withdrew the money an moved to florida to use it to buy a home there. they should be charged

Friday 16 January

By S.D.

Neutral

the bank should loose yhe money after all when they screw up they go for bailouts so whats another $177,000 the innocent couple should be left alone and their should be no promotions in the detective"s room when they go arrest a bank robber

Friday 16 January

By AB

Lowest Rank

I don't see what the couple did as a crime. I agree that they shouldn't have taken the money and they should have to pay it back. But to charge them for taking the money when it was in their bank account is asinine. That's akin to entrapment. It doesn't matter that they knew it wasn't theirs. It's a matter of the money being in their bank account. Even if the knew it wasn't theirs, that shouldn't be blamed for taking the money because the "TEMPTATION" is simply to great. Any "average" person who don't have access to that kind of money would have probably done the same thing. Sure while you're sitting at home and not have it happen to you, you can claim that you would have turned it in. But when the money is staring you in the face I'm sure it would be a different thing. Especially, you already had the disposition to take what's not yours.
I'm saying the bank also has some responsibility here. It can't be allowed to go around tempting people to steal it's money by giving it to them and then claiming the person stole it. The bank has a responsibility here to not "tempt" it's customers in this manner and when it does, it should only be allowed to recover the money through civil proceedings, not criminal proceedings. Think about it.

Friday 16 January

By Monica

Neutral

I totally agree that's entrapment although the money was not theres and i know there were well aware of it. They still shouldn't be arrested and another thing what the hell took the banks so long to find the error this couple had enough time to cancel there accounts and move i mean what gives...

Friday 16 January

By Marti

Highest Rank

Using the entrapment argument, people that are overweight can blame fast food companies for tempting them with their food and adulterous wives/husbands can blame hot men/women for tempting them to cheat. WHATEVER!! We are faced with temptations everyday and must make the choice to ignore it or give in. Your comments are indicative of what is wrong with today's society -- no responsibility. Everything is everyone else's fault.

Friday 16 January

By leni

Highest Rank

the couple did nothing wrong until they withdrew the money and spent it. The bank is the one who made the error. That isn't why these people are in trouble. They're in trouble for trying to spend someone elses money.

Friday 16 January

By Rob Rothman

Highest Rank

The couple removed the money and went to Florida. The criminal charge is valid because they had 'intent' to steal as evidenced by their leaving town after closing the account. Don't do the crime if you won't do the time.

Saturday 17 January

By GV

Highest Rank

AB,

According to your statement temptation gives people the right to commit a crime. Based on what you said it was ok for someone to attempt to kill my son because he drove a nice car. Your theory implies the carjacker was within his right to take a baseball bat and hit my son 37 times because my son TEMPTED him into stealing his car by having the audacity to drive a nice vehicle. People like you scare me. Do the rest of us a favor avoid jury duty.

Saturday 17 January

By wolfy

Highest Rank

Actually, since they decided to withdraw all the money, move to Florida and purchase a home with their ill-gotten gains, I'd say that yes, they are criminals and deserve to do time for what they did. If, on the other hand, they had come in or called and told someone that there was extra money in their account and they may have drawn some of it by mistake, I'm sure the bank would have praised their honesty and forgiven their error. As badly as I would need this money, I still would know it wasn't mine and keep it! That's dishonest and I would feel guilty the rest of my life if I did!

Saturday 17 January

By HumanLibber

Highest Rank

Leaving town with the money was not bright.
Calling the bank was a good idea.
Moving it to a savings account when the bank said it was correctly yours can get you in trouble unless you have a written confirmation of the deposit. The bank is very likely to treat you badly because of their mistake; we hate to be exposed in an error worse than being accused of stealing. Another way a bank can make this a real pain is to withdraw the incorrect deposit without realizing that there was a deposit made ($1772.50). That happened to me. I knew they would find the error eventually so I left it in the checking account. They took out the entire deposit without putting the correct deposit back in. That's two errors for the price of one. They then got snippy when I asked for my paycheck back. Getting out of this unscathed is not easy. : )

Saturday 17 January

By The Coolest

Highest Rank

Law enforcement cannot cause someone to commit a crime moron. You either do it or you don't. if you do it you are a criminal. In this case they misappropriated found property, and they knew exactly what they were doing.