Bank's deposit goof leads to lawsuit, theft charge

[September 27, 2008]  ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) -- A man was charged with theft after a bank accused him of not returning more than $280,000 mistakenly deposited into his account.

Herbert Starbird, 57, was charged Tuesday with theft and receiving stolen property, police said. He allegedly spent more than half of $280,276 he found in his account last fall.

First Commonwealth Bank also has filed a civil suit against Starbird. The bank seized what was left when it discovered the error and wants Starbird to return more than $150,000 still missing. Starbird's attorney, Thomas Dickey, said his client spent the money after the bank told him the Oct. 23, 2007, deposit was not a mistake. He will plead not guilty, Dickey said. But in court papers, the bank said Starbird never contacted it and was never told the money belonged to him. The bank discovered the error Feb. 7 and immediately froze the account, which still contained $116,946, officials said. The bank also took $5,500 from Starbird's savings account. --- Information from: Altoona Mirror, http://www.altoonamirror.com [Associated Press] Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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