A cryptocurrency exchange company accidentally transferred nearly $10.5 million in Australian dollars into a woman’s account while processing a $100 refund, legal documents obtained by USA TODAY show.
The transaction sent to a woman in Australia went unnoticed for more than seven months before a company audit revealed the error on Dec. 23, 2021, according to a default judgment released Friday in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Crypto.com, which mistakenly made the payment, has launched legal action to recover the millions lost.
The company sent the money on May 20, 2021 to a bank account belonging to Thevamanogari Manivel after entering her account number into the payment amount field, according to the judgement.
“Instead of refunding $100.00 as intended, $10,474,143.00 was erroneously transferred,” the judgement reads.
Crypto.com discovered that Manviel had sent a large sum of the money to other accounts, according to the judgment.
After the transfer, she bought a $1.35 million house in Melbourne, the company claimed in the judgment.
About a month prior, in February, the judgment continues, she transferred $430,000 to her daughter, Raveena Vijian, the documents continue.
According to the judgment, she then transferred the ownership of the house to her sister Thilagavathy Gangadory who lives in Malaysia.
The company tried to freeze Gangadory’s bank accounts in March, but was unsuccessful, the judgment said.
Friday’s default judgment ordered Gangadory to pay Crypto.com $1.35 million, sell the property, and pay interest of just over $27,000.
Crypto did not immediately respond to USA TODAY for comment.
Neither Manivel nor Gangadory could also not be reached for comment.
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crypto.com accidentally sent $10.5 M to woman, took 7 months to realize
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