Man mistakenly sent 46.3 mil. yen in COVID funds gambles all of it away

A 24-year-old man mistakenly sent 46.3 million yen ($360,000) in COVID-19 relief money by the western Japan town he resides in, says he gambled it all away on abroad on line casino websites, sources close to the matter mentioned Tuesday.

The person is unlikely to have the ability to return the cash transferred to him in error by the town of Abu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in response to his lawyer, who mentioned a decision via litigation is being considered.

Abu Mayor Norihiko Hanada speaks to reporters on May 12, 2022, on the Abu town office in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan. (Kyodo)

Talking at a press conference Monday, the lawyer said the person had instructed him that he had moved the money out of his account using his smartphone. The lawyer stated that the person lives alone and no one else is believed to be concerned in the matter.

Final Thursday, the city sued the man for around 51 million yen for the total return of the funds plus authorized fees. In response to the city, the person had refused to return the cash, saying it was "moved from my account and can't be returned. I will atone for my sins."

The man's lawyer has refuted claims that he grew to become unreachable after the city filed the lawsuit against him, saying that police had stored his phone following voluntary questioning in April and Could.

On April 6, after procedures to transfer 100,000 yen in COVID-19 reduction money to every of the 463 low-income households in Abu had been completed, a town official mistakenly submitted a single transfer request to a financial institution for 46.3 million yen for the person whose name was at the high of the record.

The whole quantity was transferred to the man's checking account on April 8.