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Montoursville couple receives $120K, then theft charges

During a two-and-a-half week period beginning in June, Montoursville resident Robert Williams and his wife, Tiffany, withdrew more than $100,000 from their BB&T bank account and went on a shopping spree.

The couple used some of the money to make a down payment on a Chevrolet SUV. They also bought a camper, a car trailer and a race car.

The Williamses also used the money to pay their bills and gave out $15,000 to their friends who needed it, according to court records.

However, there was just one problem.

It wasn’t their money to spend, according to state Trooper Aaron Brown.

A teller at one of the bank’s branch offices accidentally deposited $120,000 into the couple’s account on May 31, Brown said. The money should have been deposited into the account of Dimension Covington Investment LLC.

When the error was caught on or before June 20, the money was pulled out of the Williams’ account and deposited into the correct account, Brown said.

However, by that time, the Williamses, who live at 303 Cypress St., had spent more than $100,000 of the money, Brown said, adding that the withdrawl caused a $107,416 overdraft from the couple’s account, which had an average balance of $1,000.

Before the teller’s error, there was $1,121 in the couple’s account, Brown said in an affidavit.

The bank notified Tiffany Williams and told her she and her husband were “responsible for the return of all the funds,” Brown said.

Tiffany Williams, who turned 35 on Sunday, told bank officials that “she no longer had the funds because she had already paid off bills. She told the bank her husband had spent a great portion of the funds and purchased a four-wheeler. She said she would speak to her husband and attempt to construct a repayment agreement” with the bank, Brown said.

State police were contacted in early July after further attempts by the bank to communicate with the couple were unsuccessful.

In separate interviews with investigators in late July, both Robert Williams, 36, and his wife “admitted to knowing the mislaid money did not belong to them, but they spent it anyway.”

The two were arraigned Tuesday before District Judge Gary Whiteman on felony charges of theft and receiving stolen property, and released on $25,000 bail each.

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