State Police in Wayne County reported a case of mistaken identity leading to grand larceny, after Lyons National Bank branch in the village of Wolcott erroneously deposited over $51,000 in checks into the wrong account.
The beneficiary of this bank error, 51-year-old Jason A. Brunton, of Butler, was arrested on a felony charge of grand larceny.
The investigation was prompted by the bank’s report on November 28 after realizing the significant deposit error.
Upon discovering the unexpected funds in his account, Brunton embarked on a spending spree, which included purchasing a Harley Davidson motorcycle, settling overdue rent and child support payments.
In total, he had spent over $10,000 before the authorities intervened.
Brunton initially claimed to investigators that he believed the money was from a customer, asserting he was a contractor.
However, he later admitted that he was not expecting any such amount from anyone.
Following his arrest, Brunton was taken to the Wayne County Jail for arraignment in CAP Court and was subsequently released. The case is set to be preliminarily heard in Wolcott Village Court before being transferred to County Court.
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