Aug. 25 (UPI) — A Minnesota man who discovered an unexpected $150,000 in his bank account said he eventually learned the money had been intended for small business relief.
Thomas Fahling, 73, of Crystal, said he was surprised to discover the money in his Sunrise Banks account in the spring, and he assumed someone from the bank would soon realize the error and get in touch with him.
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Fahling said weeks went by and the money remained in his account, so he contacted the bank to investigate.
The money turned out to be from the Paycheck Protection Program, which was established by Congress to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve never owned a business, so it was quite a shock,” Fahling told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Fahling said the bank has now corrected the error. He joked that he had considered absconding to Mexico with the money, but ultimately decided to do the right thing.
“I wouldn’t mind having $150,000 of the government’s money for a legitimate reason,” Fahling said, “but not at the expense of some small business that otherwise might have to lay off workers and close the doors because somebody made an error.”
An Indiana man made a similar — but much larger — discovery in April when he checked his bank account to see if his $1,700 stimulus had arrived and instead discovered $8.2 million.
Charles Calvin said he called his bank the following day and was told his account had returned to normal — but his $1,700 stimulus payment had arrived. He said his bank did not disclose the cause of the error.
