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Monday, 27-Dec-99 10:25:03

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Woman fighting to keep $700,000

The Associated Press

NEW YORK -- A woman mistakenly received $700,000 meant for a United Nations environmental fund, quit her job and spent much of the money before the bank noticed the error and froze the account.

Susan Madakor, 40, a single mother who lives in public housing, is fighting to get the money back. She went to court this week to ask a judge to grant her the money instead of the United Nations.

Her attorney, Michael Siegal, says Madakor believed the money was a lottery jackpot.

The windfall showed up in her account as 13 wire transfers from countries including Italy, France, Belgium, Finland, Turkey and Uruguay between February and October 1998. Chase Manhattan Bank said the foreign governments used an account number with one incorrect digit.

Madakor left her $23,000-a-year job at a Manhattan textile company and bought a laundry business for $100,000, set up a college savings fund for her 10-year-old son, paid off $30,000 in credit card debt, furnished a new apartment and leased a van. She was negotiating to buy a liquor store when Chase discovered the mistake.

Siegal said the foreign governments are out of luck because they failed to correct their mistake within 90 days of each transfer.

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), December 27, 1999

Answers

$23,000 a year job and $30,000 debt in credit cards...??? WOW,and I thought I was doing bad before I paid everything off...

-- STFrancis (STFrancis@heaven.com), December 27, 1999.

"$23,000 a year job and $30,000 debt in credit cards...??? WOW,and I thought I was doing bad before I paid everything off... "

More Americans are in this type of debt than you may think.

-- Forrest Covington (theforrest@mindspring.com), December 27, 1999.

Chase again!

If I has to tag one major bank as really poorly run, that would be it.

-- K. Stevens (kstevens@ It's ALL going away in iust four days.com), December 27, 1999.

God bless. I hope something works for her!

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), December 27, 1999.

this is hysterical!! Yah, right. it was a lottery winning-- "strange, but i never played no lottery?" I hope she gets to keep it. i would rather see her and her liquor store and laundromat get tax money than the damned UN!!!!!!!!

-- tt (cuddluppy@nowhere.com), December 27, 1999.

$700,000 for the UN?...thats like leaving 10 cents too much out for the milkman

-- (thats@pocket.money), December 27, 1999.

She stole the money....plain and simple.....it was not hers to spend. Jail time is a reasonable solution......not a chance in hell she really believed it was lottery winnings.

All you sympathetic folks would soon lose your sympathy if your money had been accidentality transferred to her account and she spent it........you'd be crying bloody murder!

-- Craig (craig@ccinet.ab.ca), December 27, 1999.

What kind of person suddenly and unexplainably finds that much money in her bank account and just assumes she can keep it? What ever happened to honesty? Shame on her!

Personally, I'd rather see the UN **environmental** fund receive their money. (And BTW, I live on less than that and I **STILL** believe in honesty.)

-- Agent00 (gotsmart@financing.needs), December 27, 1999.

Hang on a second. She was making $23,000 a year and lived in PUBLIC HOUSING????!!?!?!?!?! HUH? I mean, I know 23 K isn't as much in NYC as it is here in Dallas, but what the hey?

And I agree w/the last posters. It was never her money, period. The absolute gall of people continues to blow me away.

In 1995, I called the touch tone banking of my checking acct and heard that I had a balance of a little over a million dollars. Talk about shocked! I called the bank and they VERIFIED that balance. Didn't bat an eye. I calmly told them that there was NO way I could have that much money. They investigated it and found out, sure enough, it was routed to the wrong account. Did I regret doing that? Nah. If I had spent it, I would have had to get a lawyer like this bimbo did and fight it in court and look like a thief (which she is) and be nervous all the time, looking over my shoulder.

It is a blessing to not have that much, seriously. You don't have the money, the money HAS you. You ever seen someone with a vehicle that they sunk a lot of $$ into? Top of the line alarm system, 50 CD CD player with high-end stereo system, etc.? They are soooo careful with the vehicle, always checking it, testing the alarm system, messing with it, buffing out every little smudge with their sleeve, etc. Do they own the car or does it own them? Hmmmmm..

"Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose." Janis Joplin

-- preparing (preparing@home.com), December 27, 1999.

Here's some interesting stats I came across. I can't remember where I saw them, but they were interesting enough that I wrote them down:

US personal savings rate: 1987 = 6% 1999 = -1.4%

Household debt (as percentage of annual income): 1987 = 66% 1999 = 82%

Mortgage debt (as percentage of annual income): 1987 = 38% 1999 = 62%

Total debt (as percentage of annual income): 1987 = 104% 1999 = 144%

Also, today, 1/3 of savers are borrowing against their 401K.

-- Clyde (clydeblalock@hotmail.com), December 28, 1999.

From: Y2K, ` la Carte by Dancr (pic), near Monterey, California

What do you suppose these countries were buying from the UN Environmental Fund?

-- Dancr (addy.available@my.webpage), December 28, 1999.