Story Archive

In Monopoly You Get to Keep the Money

Mehdi Soheili, 32, of Auckland, New Zealand, discovered that his bank had erroneously deposited about NZ$142,000 (US$115,000) into his account. Eight days later, the bank realized its error and froze the money, but Soheili had already gambled away over NZ$106,000 (US$84,000) of it. “It was his addiction to gambling and an unwise series of decisions,” suggested Soheili’s lawyer, Shannon Withers. “This will impact upon his future for a considerable amount of time.” Withers called the theft “an unfortunate crime of opportunity,” but the judge called it “an act of some significant dishonesty.” The judge also discovered that Withers wasn’t just Soheili’s lawyer, he was also his anti-gambling treatment program sponsor. (MS/APNZ) ...I think Withers missed step 4: Make a searching and fearless moral inventory.