A bank accidentally deposited a whopping $50 billion into a Louisiana family's account - and they still don't know how the error occurred.
Darren James, a 47-year-old real estate agent from Baton Rouge, recounted the bizarre affair to Fox 10 Phoenix.
On June 12, James's wife showed him the sudden windfall they had received out of nowhere via online banking on her phone.
"I’m like, ‘Where did that come from?’" he told the outlet on Sunday. "And all we were thinking was who’s going to be knocking on our door... because we don’t know anybody with that type of money to begin with."
James began to wonder if a wealthy long-lost uncle had deposited the staggering sum into his account. But the family soon decided that the funds did not belong to them and so they got in contact with Chase Bank in order to rectify the balance.
"We knew it wasn’t ours. We didn’t earn it, so we couldn’t do anything with it," he continued.
James, who was previously employed as a law enforcement officer for the Louisiana Department of Public Safety, was well aware that keeping the money would have been tantamount to theft.
So, four days after contacting Chase Bank, the funds were finally removed from their account.
"It was a great feeling while it was there to see that many zeroes in your account," he added. "It was pretty neat to see what it looked like."
James explained to the publication that if he really did have $50 billion of his own hard-earned cash, he would use it to help other people by, for example, building a children's hospital.
"I would bless other people—to give people hope that there is positive in this world," he continued. "That’s what my biggest dream is."
He added: "I love being able to bless people. I love being able to do the right thing."
He also revealed that Chase Bank still has not told the family how the error even happened, and he wonders whether his wife's account had been compromised.
"I want to know why it happened. That makes you think about the security of the account," he added.
