The Melbourne woman’s account received AUD 10.5 million ($6.6 million) instead of AUD 100 due to a refund error by crypto exchange Crypto.com.
Crypto.com did not notice the error until seven months later. The exchange promptly demanded a refund and subsequently went to the Australian Supreme Court. The charge: theft. Because the woman had already spent part of the money – on villas and luxury goods. The court initially ruled in favor of the crypto exchange and ordered the woman to sell the properties in order to return the funds to Crypto.com.
The woman has now protested her innocence in court. She assumed she had won a prize, she claims. About AUD 7 million has now been repaid. The remaining 3.5 million would flow back to Crypto.com through the seizures.