Have you ever imagined that one day while sleeping and suddenly receive a huge amount of money transferred to your bank account? Will you spend all the money or try to return it to its rightful owner?
This is the case of the young man who was sent to prison for intentionally appropriating all the money that did not belong to him.
Abdel Ghadia, a man residing in Sydney, has pleaded guilty to two counts of dealing with the proceeds of crime.
According to his statement, a staggering $750,000 was suddenly transferred to his bank account while he was sleeping.
The money in question originated from a young couple who had intended to transfer $750,000 AUD (US $511,499) as payment for their new house in October 2020.
As the couple approached the final stages of the purchase process in June of the following year, their broker advised them to transfer the funds to a designated Commonwealth Bank account to complete the transaction.
However, the conveyance later informed them that the bank was unable to locate their transaction and discovered that the couple had mistakenly transferred the payment to the wrong account.
Through investigations, the money rushed into Ghadia's bank account.
Rather than reporting the unusual transaction or investigating its origin, Ghadia decided to spend the funds.
However, his actions were deemed unlawful, and sentenced to prison in 2021.
Abdel Ghadia started to embark on a spending spree.
His first stop was the ABC Bullion store, where he purchased a total of $598,188 worth of gold bars, ranging in weight from 10 ounces to 1 kilogram. These purchases were spread out over six visits throughout June 2021.
Additionally, he spent $62,843 on a 500-gram gold bullion and a 10-ounce bar at Ainslie Bullion, a gold dealer based in Queensland.
Ghadia also indulged in $48,222 worth of gold KHC coins.
When questioned by the police after his arrest, Ghadia admitted that he wanted to give gold to someone he loved.
He used $14,490 to purchase foreign exchange on the international money market in an attempt to achieve this.
In June and July of that year, Ghadia took out $13,600 in cash from ATMs all throughout Sydney.
He finally lavished $6,235 on makeup from MECCA at Westfield Parramatta and apparel from JD Sports and Uniqlo.
In Sydney's Burwood Local Court, Ghadia entered a guilty plea and was given an 18-month prison sentence.
