You can't make this up
We in the news business too often figure we've heard it all -- until the next story comes along. The tale of a real estate mogul who bounced a $25.2 million check last month is one of those stories.
The man hand-wrote a check for $25,212,076.35 and asked the teller at the drive-through window to deposit it in another account he controls. When told that account was closed, he convinced the bank folks that a wire transfer was en route to reopen the account. So, they accepted the check. After all, he's been a good customer for five years. He then wrote checks from that account, but the bank says the wire transfer was never made. A judge Wednesday froze all of the man's assets (he has an interest in more than 60 properties in Monmouth and Ocean counties), at the bank's request.
There may be another side to this story. But on the surface, the bank's check-approval procedures are open to question. Accepting a check for $25 million -- and even a lot less -- has to be signed off by a bank officer, you'd think. Yes, we're part of a global economy, but a million dollars -- not to mention $25 million -- is a lot of money. It doesn't strike us as drive-through window material.
The man hand-wrote a check for $25,212,076.35 and asked the teller at the drive-through window to deposit it in another account he controls. When told that account was closed, he convinced the bank folks that a wire transfer was en route to reopen the account. So, they accepted the check. After all, he's been a good customer for five years. He then wrote checks from that account, but the bank says the wire transfer was never made. A judge Wednesday froze all of the man's assets (he has an interest in more than 60 properties in Monmouth and Ocean counties), at the bank's request.
There may be another side to this story. But on the surface, the bank's check-approval procedures are open to question. Accepting a check for $25 million -- and even a lot less -- has to be signed off by a bank officer, you'd think. Yes, we're part of a global economy, but a million dollars -- not to mention $25 million -- is a lot of money. It doesn't strike us as drive-through window material.
posted by Larry Benjamin at 10:41 AM
2 Comments:
Yes, that was one of the best "you can't make this up" stories ever. I wonder, upon receiving the $25 million deposit, did the drive-up teller impassively say through the microphone "have a nice day" and include a little biscuit for the guy's dog along with the rock that holds down his receipt?
This guy must have made out like a bandit at the McDonalds drive up window too. police better check out all hamburger joints pronto!
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