DETROIT – A retired auto worker is scheduled to be sentenced next week for tapping Bank of America ATMs for $1.5 million he gambled away at local casinos after a glitch at the banking giant allowed him access to unlimited funds.
Federal prosecutors have recommended a short prison sentence of only 15 months because they say the bank is to blame for the glitch.
They say Ronald Page, a retired General Motors worker, visited an ATM at one of the local casinos in 2009 and found that, despite only having a few hundred dollars in his account, he was able to take out as much money as he wanted.
Page discovered the same thing happened at other ATMs and at casino windows and went on a 15 day-long spree, taking out $312,000 at Greektown Casino, $103,000 at MGM Grand Casino and $514,000 at Motor City Casino, according to court records.
He lost all of the money.
Prosecutors say BofA, which inherited Page’s account after it acquired LaSalle Bank, mistakenly tabbed his account as “pay all,” allowing Page to make unlimited cash withdrawals and make unlimited overdrafts.
On August 21, 2009, BofA notified Page that his account was overdrawn by $1.5 million and demanded immediate payment.
