No one thought he did anything wrong!
Watch Our Video Of The Week
Most individuals imagine themselves becoming millionaires overnight, but for one Australian barman, it kind of happened.
On a night out, Dan Saunders’ strange tale began when his card was denied at a bar after he had ordered a round of drinks for his friends.
He went to the closest hole-the-wall even though he only had £3 in his account and attempted to withdraw £100 in credit, figuring he would worry about the ramifications later.
The bank annulled the transaction, yet the money still appeared mysteriously.
Dan compared the realisation to “discovering fire” because it occurred at the same ATM between midnight and one in the morning and allowed him to withdraw as much money as he wanted without being charged.
He withdrew a total of £1 million over the course of the following four months, and he began to live a life of luxury.
His ill-gotten profits were used to fund trips on private jets, expensive alcohol, and escort services, amassing an absurd amount of debt.
One example of this was spending £50,000 on a trip to an island off the coast of Bali, where he rented a private jet and invited his pals.
He admitted that “I opened the book on anything – people just gave me their dreams and I fulfilled them.”
Dan eventually came clean to the bank and explained what he had done after squandering all the money.
He was arrested on 111 counts of fraud and theft three years later.
He admitted: “The court case was weird because no one actually understood what I did: not the judge, not the prosecutor, it was very odd.”
Dan added: “There were many blank looks; the bank provided minimal evidence so it was really just a case of ‘bad Dan and that’s it… case closed.
“They even played the Current Affair interview in the courtroom as evidence. It was surreal.”
The Aussie man spent a year in prison and was released in May 2016.
In a statement, National Australia Bank told LADbible: “Once the fraudulent transactions were confirmed in May 2011, NAB took immediate action to close the relevant accounts and prevent any further fraudulent transactions by the individual.
“NAB also ensured a similar fraud could not be carried out by any other individual.”
Starbucks Hit With Lawsuit Over “Fruitless” Fruit Drinks!
Man Lied About Having Terminal Cancer To Raise $30,000 To Enter World Series Of Poker Tournaments
In an effort to solicit money, a man has admitted to lying about having colon cancer.
Rob Mercer required money in order to enter the World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas.
So, in an effort to acquire the money he need, Mercer made up a cancer diagnosis in order to set up a GoFundMe page and use the proceeds to fly to Las Vegas.
This year’s tournament took place from May 30 to July 18.
Mercer, who is from Vallejo, California, lied and claimed to have stage 4 colon cancer in order to defraud generous donors out of thousands of dollars.
He needed $10,000 to participate in the No-limit Hold’em World Championship buy-in, but raised between $30,000 and $50,000, including a night in a suite at the Bellagio, a five-star hotel.
“I did exaggerate my colon cancer diagnosis. I’m free of colon cancer. I utilised that to disguise my predicament, Mercer admitted to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“I did the wrong thing. I ought not to have disclosed that I have colon cancer. When someone asked me what type of cancer I had, I basically made the decision on the spot.
“I apologise for not being upfront about my circumstances. Who knows what would have happened if I had done that right away.
In light of his falsehoods, Mercer has been contacted by someone at GoFundMe for violating its terms of service.
But does the 37-year-old have any plans to personally return people’s money? Nope.
Mercer shared that he won’t be paying back the money to his donators as he still believes that he’s sick, but with undiagnosed breast cancer rather than stage 4 colon cancer.
GoFundMe has since confirmed that people will be getting refunds, however.
A spokesperson told the newspaper: “GoFundMe has zero tolerance for the misuse of our platform and takes swift action against those who exploit the generosity of our community.
“We have removed this fundraiser for violating our terms of service, all donors have been fully refunded, and Rob Mercer has been banned from using the platform for any future fundraisers. Additionally, GoFundMe cooperates with law enforcement investigations of those formally accused of wrongdoing.”
Apparently Mercer didn’t get very far in the highly anticipated poker tournament, as he was eliminated within a few hours.
In hindsight, it was probably a good thing he didn’t get very far, as I don’t think the people who donated towards his fund would be been best pleased if he’d walked away with millions.
How The Saw Movies Saved Over 360,000 People’s Lives
Miami Real Estate Broker Who Used $381K In COVID Relief Funds On Bentley, Luxe Apartment, Get 3.5 Years In Prison
A Miami real estate agent who defrauded the government of $381,000 in COVID relief funding and spent the money on a Bentley, a lavish flat and cosmetic surgery was given a three-and-a-half year prison sentence.
After being indicted in February on six further counts of wire fraud, two counts of money laundering, and one count of aggravated identity theft, Daniela Rendon, 31, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud in April.
The extra charges were ultimately dropped by the prosecution.
The Miami Herald stated that Rendon, a mother of three and Colombian native, claimed during her sentence in Miami federal court on Thursday that her acts had been “motivated by insatiable greed” because it seemed like “everybody” at the time was illegally collecting COVID-19 relief loans.
However, once authorities discovered Rendon had been abusing the loan programmes, the former “Ultra Luxury” real estate agent understood she had actually been hurting “countless individuals and businesses” that had been hit hard by a “unprecedented period of economic distress,” rather than “faceless entities of the U.S. government.”
US District Judge K. Michael Moore said that Rendon’s confession, along with her hefty 30-page apology, led him to hand down the lenient sentence, ultimately sparing her an additional year in the clink.
“It’s not as easy to see that you’re really stealing from your neighbors, your friends and other citizens,” Moore said.
“It’s their money that goes to the Treasury that makes it possible to have these kinds of programs.”
The PPP swindler could have faced up to 20 years on the lone wire fraud charge. Assistant US Attorney Jonathan Bailyn suggested Rendon serve a three-and-a-half-year sentence while her defense attorney, Robert Mandell, asked for just five years’ probation.
In addition to jail time, Rendon has to repay $198,990 to the feds.
During the early days of the pandemic, the federal government rushed to prop up floundering businesses with emergency funding that would help them cover essential overhead costs.
The Small Business Administration quickly set up financial relief programs, such as the Economic Injury Disaster Loan and the Paycheck Protection Program loans, to help those struggling.
Rendon, however, took advantage of the vulnerable programs by falsifying records linked to her real estate business — including her annual revenue, payroll, costs of products, IRS tax info and number of employees — to qualify for the COVID-era relief funding.
She wound up landing a $371,290 PPP loan and a $10,000 EIDL loan, according to the federal indictment.
Rather than use the funds for legitimate business costs, Rendon proceeded to blow the windfall on leasing a 2021 Bentley Bentayga, which she flaunted on her Instagram, and renting a luxe Biscayne Bay apartment. She also used her ill-gotten gains to cover cosmetic procedures and refurbish her designer shoes.
A June report by the Office of the Inspector General for the Small Business Administration, which oversaw the federal aid disbursement, found that 17% of the $1.2 trillion doled out in PPP and EIDL loans had been stolen through fraud schemes.
