One woman really thought her crypto investment was paying off after a cryptocurrency firm mistakenly wired her $10.4 million. She immediately bought a mansion for her sister and gave money to five other people.
Crypto firm pitched by Matt Damon accidentally sends woman $10 million
You might remember actor Matt Damon appearing as a pitchman in an ad for cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com in its Super Bowl commercial last year.
The company made a huge mistake in May 2021 when it accidentally “erroneously transferred” $10,474,143 ($10.4 million) to an Australian woman instead of the $100 refund it intended to deliver, the New York Post reported.
The company only found the mistake due to a routine audit it undertook seven months ago.
Woman buys sister mansion, shares money with others after $10 million wired to her bank account
Melbourne resident Thevamanogari Manivel must have thought she had made the investment of a lifetime when her cryptocurrency return resulted in $10.4 million AUD being deposited in her bank account.
Apparently, Manivel didn’t question the windfall and went about sharing her good fortune with six other people, News.com.au reported.
Manivel transferred the funds to another bank account that she held jointly with her sister Thilagavathy Gangadory. She bought her sister a $1.35m five-bedroom house in Melbourne, Yahoo reported.
She also split up the money between five other people, including her daughter.
Crypto company sues to get its money back
After uncovering the error, Crypto.com has now gone to court to try to retrieve the money it accidentally gave away. The company is also asking for an additional 10% interest on the amount, as well as its legal costs.
A court has now ruled that Thevamanogari Manivel, her sister Thilagavathy Gangadory, and five other people who received the money must return it.
“Extraordinarily, the Plaintiffs allegedly did not realize this significant error until some seven months later, in late December 2021,” Victorian Supreme Court judge James Elliott wrote in a court ruling.
The company was able to freeze Manivel’s accounts, but by the time they did so, most of the money had been dispersed to Gangadory and the other five people named in the legal filing. The company asked the court to freeze Gangadory’s bank accounts as well.
The court also ruled that all seven of the defendants must repay all of the money as well as cover the legal expenses incurred by the company. They must also pay 10 percent interest, which amounts to $27,369.64.
The mansion that was purchased, which has a value of $1.35 million AUD, must be sold and the proceeds used to reimburse Crypto.com. Reportedly, the company has been unable to get in touch with Manivel and the other defendants about the remaining funds.
