'Accidental Millionaire' gets jail for bank error
Source: Agencies |
August 25, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
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A GAS station owner who fled to China with millions of dollars after his bank mistakenly gave him the money has been sentenced by a New Zealand court to four years and seven months in prison.
A 2009 bank error gave Gao Hui a credit line of NZ$10 million (US$8.1 million). Gao transferred most of the money overseas before the bank realized its mistake. Dubbed the "Accidental Millionaire," the 32-year-old then fled to China with his partner Kara Hurring.
Gao, who was extradited from Hong Kong last year, said at his sentencing yesterday that he had none of the money left.
Gao and Hurring earlier pleaded guilty to theft charges. Hurring was sentenced yesterday to nine months home detention.
The pair fled to Hong Kong after the bank mistakenly loaded an overdraft worth NZ$10 million into Gao's bank account in April 2009.
Hurring voluntarily returned to New Zealand in February last year, but Gao was arrested in Hong Kong in September and extradited in December.
In June, Gao admitted seven counts of theft totaling more than NZ$6 million, and a month earlier, a jury found Hurring, 33, guilty of 30 charges of theft and money laundering.
Yesterday, Gao's lawyer told the court that Gao had succumbed to temptation and was remorseful, but was not in a position to repay. Hurring's lawyer told the court her culpability was limited to that of a secondary player.
The prosecution questioned the sincerity of Gao's remorse, saying it was undermined by the fact that NZ$8 million remained unaccounted for. Court documents showed Westpac was seeking reparations of almost NZ$4 million, according to Radio New Zealand.
A 2009 bank error gave Gao Hui a credit line of NZ$10 million (US$8.1 million). Gao transferred most of the money overseas before the bank realized its mistake. Dubbed the "Accidental Millionaire," the 32-year-old then fled to China with his partner Kara Hurring.
Gao, who was extradited from Hong Kong last year, said at his sentencing yesterday that he had none of the money left.
Gao and Hurring earlier pleaded guilty to theft charges. Hurring was sentenced yesterday to nine months home detention.
The pair fled to Hong Kong after the bank mistakenly loaded an overdraft worth NZ$10 million into Gao's bank account in April 2009.
Hurring voluntarily returned to New Zealand in February last year, but Gao was arrested in Hong Kong in September and extradited in December.
In June, Gao admitted seven counts of theft totaling more than NZ$6 million, and a month earlier, a jury found Hurring, 33, guilty of 30 charges of theft and money laundering.
Yesterday, Gao's lawyer told the court that Gao had succumbed to temptation and was remorseful, but was not in a position to repay. Hurring's lawyer told the court her culpability was limited to that of a secondary player.
The prosecution questioned the sincerity of Gao's remorse, saying it was undermined by the fact that NZ$8 million remained unaccounted for. Court documents showed Westpac was seeking reparations of almost NZ$4 million, according to Radio New Zealand.
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