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She was mistakenly transferred $10.5m – so she bought a mansion

A costly bungle has resulted in two Aussie women going on a spending spree and a cryptocurrency company left $10.5 million ($NZD 11.76 million) out of pocket. Thevamanogari Manivel received the hefty injection of cash after Crypto.com, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platforms, attempted to process a refund of just $100 ($NZD 111) in May last year. But, instead of sending through the refund, an account number was entered in the payment section, resulting in the accidental transfer. Seven months later, the company has launched legal action against Ms Manivel and her sister, Thilagavathy Gangadory, after discovering the error during an audit in December, per court documents. The only issue is that the sisters have already spent a chunk of the cash. The court found that Ms Manivel transferred the funds into a joint account last year, before taking out some of the money to buy a $1.35 million ($NZD 1.51 million) property in the Melbourne suburb of Craigieburn in February 2022. It’s understood that Ms Manivel bought the five-bedroom home - which reportedly includes a gym and home cinema - as a gift for her sister. The home, which sold on February 3 according to property records, is described as having a “monochrome palette”, four “designer” bathrooms, an outdoor entertaining area and an expansive kitchen/dining/family area with a butler’s pantry, per <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-vic-craigieburn-138330146">the listing</a>, According to the <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/cryptocom-goes-to-court-to-recoup-105m-it-incorrectly-sent-to-melbourne-woman/news-story/1e2d91d007d1257593cf5d0d99f1477d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Herald Sun</a>, Ms Manivel sent $430,000 ($NZD 481,000) to her daughter and transferred the ownership of the home to her sister, Ms Gangadory. Crypto.com has since won part of its legal battle after a judge in Victoria’s Supreme Court ordered that the luxury home be sold and that the $1.35 million be returned to the company, along with $27,369 ($NZD 30,644) in interest and other costs. It is believed that separate orders have been made for the remaining sum. Because Ms Gangadory failed to appear in court for the May hearing, Justice James Dudley Elliott said that “the allegations in the statement of claim are taken to be admitted”, after the reasons for his judgement were made <a href="http://publicly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">publicly available</a> last week. If Ms Gangadory doesn’t put the property on the market, a receiver could be appointed to arrange its sale or, if she ignores the orders, she could be in contempt of court, as reported by <a href="https://7news.com.au/news/vic/cryptocurrency-platform-cryptocom-accidentally-transfers-105-million-to-melbourne-woman-c-8058203" target="_blank" rel="noopener">7News</a>. “There’s no doubt that if you saw that in your account you would know it shouldn’t be there, and the onus is actually on you to actually call the sender and to say look that shouldn’t have come into my account,” Justin Lawrence from Henderson and Ball Lawyers told the outlet. “If you’re withholding property of someone else you’re effectively holding property by deception, you’re not entitled to it, you need to give it back.” The case is scheduled to return to court in October. Images: Realestate.com.au/Getty Images

Real Estate

Blackout bungle sees sisters marry the wrong grooms

Two sisters have accidentally married the wrong grooms during their joint wedding, as a power cut caused a confusing blackout. The ceremony was happening in the village of Aslana in Madhya Pradesh state, India, when the unfortunate blackout wreaked havoc with the proceedings. During the confusion, the priest continued to read out the marriage rites, but accidentally confused the couples. The brides’ father Ramesh Lal suggested the priest may have been confused since the two women were both in red dresses with veils over their faces. When the mistake was realised, it was later rectified. Blackouts and power cuts have been more common in India, as unusually high temperatures continue to tear through the country. These surging temperatures have seen a surge in demand for energy, with many companies resorting to intermittent power cuts in order to cope with the demand. More than a billion people across south Asia are facing a record-breaking heat wave which leaves them "gasping in whatever shade they find". Temperatures in northern India<a id="mol-de96b2e2-d097-11ec-861e-fba9b27a3e26" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/pakistan/index.html"> </a>have spiked to 47C as neighbouring Pakistan suffered its hottest March for 61 years. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in April, "Temperatures are rising rapidly in the country, and rising much earlier than usual." Image credits: Getty Images

Relationships

Police urgently sworn in after MAJOR bungle

More than 1000 officers have been <a href="https://7news.com.au/news/victoria-police/hundreds-of-vic-police-wrongly-sworn-in-c-5819028" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urgently sworn in</a> by Victoria Police after news emerged of an admin stuff-up. A change in legislation in 2013 has meant assistant commissioning officers have been swearing in graduating police officers without the appropriate power. As a result, affected officers have been making arrests, pressing charges and issuing orders without the valid powers to do so. The mistake extended beyond the officers, with a final tally of 1076 police officers, 157 protective service officers and 29 police custody officers being incorrectly sworn-in over the last eight years. Victoria Police said three assistant commissioners have already sworn in about 660 officers and protective service officers via videolink, with another 570 remaining. Officers have taken their oath during their first shift back at work, commencing their duties immediately afterwards. “This is an oversight, it’s an administrative oversight, it has some significant consequences for a short period of time,” Chief Commissioner Shane Patton told reporters. Though it is unclear how many court cases have been affected by the error, Mr Patton said it would be a “case by case analysis” to determine whether people could contest arrests or charges. “If someone wants to contest a matter, we would adjourn it and step through and analyse the specifics of that,” he said. “It may be that an officer, who comes within the scope of what we’ve been discussing here, is with another police officer who is not so affected and therefore the arrest may be totally valid. “There’s a whole range of scenarios.” The state government has also promised to introduce legislation addressing the situation at parliament’s next sitting. Police Minister Lisa Neville said the new laws would address past decisions, including arrests and charges issued by affected officers. “We’ve got to get this right, it will rectify all that and all those matters will stand,” she said. “Now someone in the meantime might try to contest, but with the support of the opposition … we’ll get this through very quickly and it won’t really be an opportunity for people to have any matters overturned.” However, Ms Neville said certain instances - such as family violence safety notices - “still have validity” since they are approved by a sergeant. The Police Association of Victoria also said it would support members affected by the error and ensure their legal and industrial rights were protected. Image: @victoriapolice (Instagram)

Legal

Millions paid out in Christmas banking bungle

A UK bank made a costly Christmas mistake by paying a total of £130 million ($NZD 260 million) to customers on December 25. In a statement released on December 30, British lender Santander said the large sum was split over 75,000 transactions from about 2000 businesses with accounts at the bank. “We’re sorry that due to a technical issue, some payments from our corporate clients were incorrectly duplicated on the recipients’ accounts,” the bank <a href="https://7news.com.au/business/banking/uk-bank-mistakenly-pays-out-nearly-250-million-in-colossal-christmas-day-disaster-c-5140630">said</a>. “None of our clients were at any point left out of pocket as a result and we will be working hard with many banks across the UK to recover the duplicated transactions over the coming days.” The bank blamed the duplicated payments on a scheduling issue, with the second payment funded by Santander. Santander added that the transactions included regular and one-off payments which may have included supplier payments or wages. Initial reports from The Times said account holders included Barclays, Virgin Money, and HSBC. According to the statement, Santander is working to recover the funds from rival banks who received the payments through the “bank error recovery process”. However, it was unclear how the banks would respond if customers had already spent the money, where asking customers to repay the funds could push them into overdraft. A payroll manager affected by the error <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59826345" target="_blank">told the BBC</a> it had cast a shadow on Christmas and Boxing Day. “It ruined my holiday period because I thought I’d paid out hundreds of thousands in error - I thought I had done something wrong,” they said. “I thought it was just me and that I was going to get in trouble at work.” The manager added that Santander hadn’t said how the second payment should be explained to staff or how the funds would be recovered. “It’s just a complete shambles,” they said. “How they are going to recover it, I just don’t know.” Santander UK - a subsidiary of global bank Banco Santander - has 14 million active customers and 616 branches, according to its website. Image: Getty Images

Money & Banking

Broadcaster apologises for offensive bungle

A Dutch public broadcaster has been forced to apologise for wrongly subtitling the German national anthem using Nazi-era lyrics while it was being played before the team’s Euro 2020 match against England. NPO issued the apology on Twitter, with the account saying “the wrong verse was accidentally shown” and apologising to viewers who were offended by the error during the match on the morning of Wednesday, June 30 (NZST). “During the live subtitling of the German national anthem at the European Championship match England-Germany, the wrong verse was displayed by mistake,” NPO said on Twitter. “This was a mistake by one of our subtitlers. We apologise to viewers who were disturbed by this.” The verse beginning with the words “Deutschland, Deutschland ueber alles” was removed in 1945 following the end of World War II due to its association with the Nazi regime. The lyrics include the line “Germany, above all, above everything in the world” - which summed up Hitler’s desire to take over the world. Image: NPO

Mind

Parents receive $5 million over bungled baby birth

A couple in Perth will keep their $5.2 million in damages after their child suffered severe and lifelong brain injuries during birth after a court challenge. It has been revealed that during Cooper Ellis' birth at Bentley Hospital in August 2009, doctor Hamza Amira repeatedly tried to use an instrumental delivery, specifically one using vacuum extraction devices. Cooper was eventually delivered via a combination of techniques. However it was during the birthing process he was deprived of oxygen and his heart rate flatlined. The young boy required resuscitation and also suffered other injuries. His parents Chris Ellis and Michelle Hoglin launched legal action against the East Metropolitan Health Service and claimed that Cooper's injuries were a result of the horrifying circumstances of his birth. WA District Court Judge Michael Gething sided with the family in 2018, saying Dr Amira's negligence caused Cooper's birth injuries. He also acknowledged that his subsequent developmental and cognitive impairments were due to the birthing process. The EMHS took the case to the WA Court of Appeal, but on Thursday the application was thrown out. The appeal judges said the birth was "prolonged and difficult". "(Cooper) did not take his first breath until five minutes after birth and underwent resuscitation for 20 minutes," they said. The infant did not start moving his legs until an hour after birth, the judge added. Slater and Gordon principal lawyer Jeffrey Potter said in a statement the firm was pleased to have assisted the family to succeed with the complex case. Mr Potter said Cooper's parents were relieved their "long and hard-fought battle" was finally over. Now they will continue to focus on their 11-year-old son's ongoing care. The $5.2 million will go towards ensuring Cooper has the support he will need for the rest of his life.

Legal

"Bungling idiots": Jacinda Ardern's bad week with press

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> Despite New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern initially being praised for the way her country handled the coronavirus pandemic, it appears the tide has turned. Her administration has been called "bungling idiots", her coalition government has been accused of "tearing itself apart" and Ardern who was previously seen as untouchable has been accused of telling a "complete lie" about her handling of the pandemic. Two British visitors on June 7th arrived into the country, where they were placed in hotel quarantine for 14 days. Six days later, the health ministry decreed that everyone in quarantine would be allowed out after two negative COVID-19 tests. The two arrivals were allowed to leave quarantine on compassionate grounds and drove 650kms to Wellington to visit a dying relative. Unfortunately, the pair got lost and met up with a couple of friends who gave them directions. The pair both tested positive for coronavirus after arriving in Wellington. It has since emerged that the women weren't tested in the hotel, not even once. Naturally, Ardern said it was an "unacceptable failure" and "cannot be repeated" as it was the nation's first COVID-19 cases for three weeks. There had already been plenty of early releases from quarantine, with 50 other visitors had been allowed out of quarantine on compassionate grounds with just four people being tested for coronavirus. If this wasn't bad enough, more news came to light. Out of the 2,519 people who left quarantine between June 9th and June 16th, most who completed the 14 days in quarantine, only 1,010 were tested for coronavirus. Of the rest, around 800 people vanished and failed to get into contact with the authorities to arrange a test. National leader Todd Muller said that the debacle was a "national disgrace". David Seymour, leader of the minor party ACT was much more direct. “These bungling idiots couldn't run a bath let alone a border,” he said. “We’re supposed to have the world’s smartest borders. We now have the world’s dumbest borders.” As election day nears, Senior National MP Judith Collins called into question Ardern's character on The AM Show. “We have been lied to actually. We have been lied to about the quarantine, about the standard of care," she said. When asked who had lied, she said "the prime minister and the health ministry". Labour MP Willie Jackson was having none of the accusations. “I think we are going a bit over the line if you are going to start accusing the prime minister of lying,” he said on the same show. “She is a person of huge integrity and very honest.” He hoped voters would “cut us a bit of slack given the integrity of the prime minister”. </div> </div> </div>

News

The palace bungles Princess Eugenie wedding tweet – can you spot the blunder?

The official Royal Family twitter account was forced to delete one tweet about Princess Eugenie’s upcoming wedding because of a glaring error. The Queen’s granddaughter is set to say “I do” to her fiancé later today in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle – the same location as Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding earlier this year. Although it is the second royal wedding of the year, the error in the tweet led fans to question whether less attention is being given to Eugenie’s nuptials. Can you spot the mistake in this tweet? <img style="width: 500px; height: 275.97402597402595px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7821307/2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/a6f0971ae6f14875a778ebcfa720ace4" /> The tweet bungled the name of Eugenie’s partner, referring to him as Mr Jacksbrook rather than his correct surname, Mr Brooksbank. The account, which has 3.81 million followers, quickly received backlash for the typo. One person replied: “I believe “Bank Jacksbrook” is his super secret spy name.” Another said: “It’s Jack Brooksbank, or Jacksbrook to his rapper crew.” The tweet stayed on the account for 40 minutes until someone alerted the Royals to the error. The tweet was later reposted with the correct spelling. Eugenie, 28, will have a traditional church service which will be followed by the newlyweds embarking on a carriage ride through the streets of Windsor. Guests will then move to the Queen’s residence for an afternoon reception at Windsor Castle. In the evening, there will be a formal sit-down dinner at the Royal Lodge in Windsor, the residence of her parents Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. The following day, the newlyweds and their friends and family will be enjoying a festival-themed afternoon party. Princess Eugenie first met Jack when she was 20 years old while at a Swiss holiday resort in Verbier. Will you be tuning in to watch Princess Eugenie’s wedding tonight? Let us know in the comments.

Technology

Wife’s battle over bungled $200K life insurance: “I won, my husband lost”

Cheryl Sayers was caught in an unimaginable battle when AMP incorrectly cancelled her husband Lee’s life insurance just months before he died of a terminal illness. The couple’s final months together were tainted by AMP’s unforgiveable failure and so Cheryl fought to hold the insurance giant accountable. “I didn't honestly believe that anyone could beat an insurance company,” Cheryl told A Current Affair. The Sydney mother-of-three forfeited a $78,000 non-disclosure payout to share her story, in the hope of helping other Australians who have been wronged in the same way. “I was not going to let them shut me up,” she said. “There are a lot more people out there that this has happened to." In 2011, AMP cancelled Lee’s life insurance policy without warning, falsely claiming he had insufficient funds to pay for it. According to Cheryl, her late husband had “never missed a payment” and had paid close to $80,000 in premiums. <img width="497" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7818791/2_497x280.jpg" alt="2 (84)"/> If the policy had been in place, the couple would have received the $200,000 payout when Lee was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, eight months before he passed away. The couple had dreamed of using the money to go on a Europe river cruise but were forced to work right up until Lee’s death, while also trying to fight AMP’s incorrect policy cancellation. “That policy would have allowed Lee to retire, to spend quality time with his children and myself,” Cheryl said. “You’re at a loss. You've lost your husband and you look like you're going to lose your home and you're at a loss what to do.” But Cheryl chose to represent herself and fought AMP and their high-paid lawyers. In 2014, her persistence paid off when the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal ruled in her favour. “I had won, but my husband had lost,” Cheryl said. AMP agreed to pay Cheryl the $200,000 payout. She estimates that she was also owed around $80,000 in interest and costs but AMP said they would only pay the funds if she signed a non-disclosure agreement.

Retirement Income

Woman misses out on seeing dying mum after plane ticket bungle

Carrol Amrich was already seated on the plane, ready to visit her dying mother, when she was removed by United Airlines’ staff minutes before take-off. The gate agent informed her that her ticket had been cancelled, and despite her pleas she was told “nobody flies for free”. Carrol offered to pay for another ticket but wasn’t allowed back on board, with the airline claiming that the plane had already left. The ticket bungle was due to a technicality. The ticket for the flight had been purchased by her landlord. Traveler Help Desk, the company that sold the ticket, cancelled it because her landlord had made a change directly with United rather than going through the company. However, at the time the airline assured them it was fine to do so. Distressed and desperate, Carrol received no help from the airline so she was left to drive to her mother from Colorado to Minnesota. She called her mother, begging her to hold on a little while longer while she embarked on her long journey ahead. The next time her phone rang, it was to tell her that her mother had passed away. “I drove 1000 miles (1610 kilometres), and she was gone before I got here,” Ms. Amrich told the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/26/business/united-airlines-traveler-help-desk.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a> two days later. “I never stopped to rest. I went straight through. And she was gone. “I cried the whole way from Pueblo. I’ve been awake for two days. I haven’t eaten for two days.” Traveler Help Desk spokeswoman Carolyn Gallant confirmed the ticket had been cancelled as a protection against fraud. “I am just so sorry for Ms Amrich’s loss,” Ms Gallant said. “I understand it was unfortunate the ticket ended up voided. Had she contacted us directly to make the change, this all would have been avoided.” The flight date had been changed when her mother’s health worsened, requiring Carrol to visit immediately. United Airlines claimed on the phone that it was fine to make the change through them instead of Traveler Help Desk.

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