Pocono News Section

Couple Will Go to Trial for Pocketing Big Bank Mistake

Couple Will Go to Trial for Pocketing Big Bank Mistake - Wednesday, January 21, 2009 at 9:23PM EST

BLOOMSBURG, COLUMBIA COUNTY- A couple is heading to trial on charges they stole money when they accepted an accidental bank deposit of nearly $200,000.
Police say the couple made a deposit for $1,772.50, but the bank accidentally added two zeros and the two ended up with $177,250 in the bank. The problem is Melissa and Randy Pratt never told the bank about the mistake.

Bloomsburg Police say the Pratts deposited the check at the FNB branch on Main Street in Bloomsburg back in August. And, in less than two months the two wrote tens of thousands of dollars worth of checks to themselves and moved to Florida. They even took out $50,000 to buy a house there.

Eyewitness News caught up with the Lieutenant in charge of the investigation. He says the couple gave $6,000 to their church in Orangeville to have its parking lot repaved, and they even gave $25,000 to a charity based in Orlando.

But the good deeds were done with bad money. The bank president tells Eyewitness News he can't comment on this case, as the investigation continues. He says, in general, banks typically have insurance to cover such frauds.

Melissa Pratt was released on unsecured bail but Randy Pratt is still in prison. Police say since the incidents the couple has legally separated. There’s no word on if their trials will be held together.