An Australian man who spent $1.6 million after discovering a banking glitch has opened up about the extravagant lifestyle he enjoyed before ultimately landing in jail.
In 2011, Dan Saunders, a bartender from Wangaratta in rural Victoria, stumbled upon a technical fault in National Australia Bank’s (NAB) ATM system. He discovered the loophole after attempting to transfer $200 from his credit card to a bank account that contained just $3.
Although the ATM indicated that the transaction had failed, the cash was still dispensed.
According to Mail Online, Saunders soon realised he could repeatedly access what appeared to be “free money” by transferring funds from his credit card to his savings account whenever the ATM network went offline for about an hour each night for routine maintenance.
Over the next four months, he lived a lavish lifestyle, spending heavily on private jets, luxury hotels, exclusive restaurants, limousines, champagne and gambling.
Eventually, Saunders turned himself in to authorities and was charged with 111 offences related to fraud and theft.
He served 12 months in prison before returning to work as a bartender, earning about $22 an hour.
Saunders, whose story inspired the 2024 film ATM Boy, reflected on his extraordinary rise and fall during an episode of SBS Insight scheduled to air on Tuesday night.
“I found a glitch in the NAB system that allowed me to make my account balance appear as though it contained millions of dollars,” he told a stunned studio audience.
