Getting paid regular wages is one thing. Overtime pay is another story. But imagine receiving a direct deposit from your company and noticing an even more considerable amount of money that probably doesn’t belong to you.
What would you do?
For one man from Chile, he had plans.
Payday was incredibly hefty for one Chilean employee after being accidentally paid 300 times more than his expected salary. But he seemingly disappeared in the wind instead of coughing up the money.
As reported by Metro UK, the unnamed staff member at Consorcio Industrial de Alimentos (CIAL) in Chile received a monthly check equivalent to $178,940 for his work in May instead of his regular £450 amount of $536.25.
On average, take-home pay in Chile is nearly $900 or £450 a month.
The employee noticed the astonishing overpayment and flagged it to his manager on May 30 per HITC. The company’s human resources were then notified. He promised to go to the bank and return the funds the next day but was nowhere to be found.
According to the news outlet, the vanished employee withdrew the funds from his bank account instead of delivering on his promise. No one has heard or spoken to him since.
The employee’s lawyer contacted the company on June 2 after several failed attempts to get in touch with the fleeing man, saying that his client had resigned from his position.
To date, no arrests have been made in connection with the incident. But the company executives have charged the ex-employee with misappropriation of funds, reported Metro UK.
Misappropriation of funds is a theft described as the illegal use of another person’s money.
Like embezzlement, Cornell Law School defines misappropriation as “[t]he unauthorized, improper, or unlawful use of funds or other property for purposes other than that for which intended.”