<p>GRETNA, La. — A former sheriff’s dispatcher in a suburb of New Orleans has been arrested, accused of refusing to return more than $1.2 million that had been accidentally deposited into her brokerage account, authorities said.</p>
<p>Kelyn Spadoni, 33, was taken into custody Wednesday on charges of theft valued over $25,000, bank fraud and illegal transmission of monetary funds, <a href="https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_2feb07a8-98b9-11eb-a676-0f0f5ccc3e47.html">nola.com </a> and <a href="https://www.fox8live.com/2021/04/09/former-jpso-dispatcher-arrested-after-refising-return-million-accidentally-placed-account/">WVUE-TV reported. </a> The reports said she was fired by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office after her arrest.</p>
<p>Spadoni is being held at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on a $50,000 bond. It was unknown if she has an attorney who could speak on her behalf.</p>
<p>Spadoni is accused of immediately moving the funds to another account and using some of the money to buy a new car and a house, authorities said.</p>
<p>Authorities said a clerical error had caused Charles Schwab, a major financial services corporation, to deposit more than $1.2 million into her brokerage account when it only meant to transfer about $82 in February, nola.com reported. When the bank attempted to reclaim the money, the request was rejected because the money was not available, according to the sheriff’s office.</p>
<p>The sheriff’s office said it was later learned that Spadoni had moved the funds into another account.</p>
<p>Capt. Jason Rivarde, a sheriff’s spokesman, said that although the money was put into her account, “it’s not her money.”</p>
<p>“She has no legal claim to that money,” he added. “Even if it was put in there by mistake. It was an accounting error.”</p>
<p>Charles Schwab & Co. sued Spadoni on Tuesday in federal court. The company tried to contact Spadoni several times to have the transferred funds returned but were unsuccessful, Rivarde said. So far, about 75% of the money has been recovered, he added. </p>
<p>The company argued in its lawsuit that Spadoni’s account contract with Schwab includes an agreement that if a client receives an overpayment of funds, the client is required to return the full amount. </p>
<p>“If someone accidentally puts an extra zero on a utility payment, they would want that money returned or credited to them. This is no different,” Rivarde said. </p>
<p>He said Spadoni had been with the sheriff’s office 911 center for 4 and 1/2 years. </p>
