Colorado Man Tells Bank Of $1.2 Million Error

When a bank teller told Myung Ho Lee he had an extra $1.2 million in his account, the news sure got his interest.

He knew all those zeros weren’t his, though. And he’d always told his children to be honest, so his decision was clear. “I only want money I earned,” the liquor store owner said.

The too-much-money problem came up as he made a deposit to his account at Norwest Bank on Thursday.

Bev Raviotta, a bank spokeswoman, said the teller who took his deposit accidentally hit some extra keys, producing “more zeros than my Social Security number.”

He asked for his current balance and was told he was a millionaire.

Later that day, he called the bank’s accounting department, which told him the same thing. When he insisted the money wasn’t his, he said he was told: “It’s your money. Take it.”

Mistakes like that one don’t happen often, Raviotta said. “In 20 years of banking I’ve never seen one of this size,” she said.