Couple spent $175,000 windfall from bank error

An American couple is in jail after police said they failed to call the bank when a glitch put an extra $US175,000 in their account.

Authorities say 50-year-old Randy Pratt and 36-year-old Melissa Pratt instead withdrew the money, quit their jobs and moved from Pennsylvania to Florida, the Press Enterprise newspaper in Pennsylvania reported.

They were buying a house in the Orlando area when the mistake was traced.

The two were arraigned on Tuesday on theft and other charges and jailed in lieu of $US100,000 bail. A public defence attorney was being assigned.

A $US1772.50 deposit showed up in their FNB Bank account last summer as $US177,250.

Police said Melissa Pratt said her husband, a roofing installer, often got large cheques and she wasn’t aware of any error.

AP

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