NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana woman working as a dispatcher for 911 for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office is accused of mistakenly depositing more than $ 1.2 million in her brokerage account, authorities said.
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Harvey’s Kelyn Spadoni, 33, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with theft of more than $ 25,000, bank fraud and illegal transfer of funds, Sheriff’s spokesman Jason Rivarde told NOLA.com. According to NOLA.com, Spadoni has been a dispatcher for the sheriff’s office for four and a half years.
She was fired from her job after her arrest, the website reported.
According to authorities, Charles Schwab & Co. the money was incorrectly deposited in Spadoni’s brokerage account, reports WVUE.
Spadoni is being sued by the brokerage firm in federal court, accusing her of avoiding their calls, text messages and e-mail attempts to get the money back, by email, NOLA.com reports.
“It’s not her money. “She has no legal claim to the money,” Rivarde told the website. ‘Even if it was accidentally put in there. It was an accounting error. ‘
According to the case, which was filed in U.S. District Court in New Orleans on Tuesday, Spadoni opened an account with Schwab in January. About a month later, the company made an ‘improvement’ to the software used to transfer assets, reports NOLA.com.
On February 23, 2021, Schwab planned to transfer $ 82.56 into a Fidelity Brokerage Services account owned by Spadoni. But instead, according to court records, the company transferred $ 1,205,619. Staff at the company immediately tried to stop or reclaim the transfer, but could not, reports NOLA.com.
When Schwab tried to claim the money back, the company’s request was rejected because the money was not available. WVUE reported.
“She secreted it, and they could not access it,” Rivarde told NOLA.com.
Schwab lawyers contacted the sheriff’s office, which opened a criminal investigation. Detectives determined that Spadoni used some of the money to buy a 2021 Hyundai Genesis SUV that could cost as much as $ 70,000, Rivarde said.
According to court records, Schwab argued that Spadoni’s account contract with the company contained an agreement that if the client received an overpayment of funds, the client should return the full amount.
“If someone accidentally puts an extra zero on a utility payment, they want the money returned or credited to them,” Rivarde told NOLA.com. “It’s no different.”
So far, 75% of the money has been recovered, reports WVUE.
Spadoni is being held at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center, the television station reported. Bail was set at $ 50,000.