The cryptocurrency firm that hired Matt Damon as a pitchman for its Super Bowl commercial last year mistakenly wired $10.4 million to an Australian woman who then used the money to buy a mansion for her sister in Melbourne, according to a report.
The cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com initially intended to send a $100 refund to Melbourne resident Thevamanogari Manivel in May of last year.
Instead, the firm “erroneously transferred” $10,474,143 to Manivel, who then split up the money among six other people, including her daughter and her sister, according to News.com.au.
During a routine audit seven months later, the company discovered the error and went to court in an effort to retrieve the money.
“Extraordinarily, the Plaintiffs allegedly did not realize this significant error until some seven months later, in late December 2021,” the Victorian Supreme Court judge James Elliott wrote in a court ruling.
Crypto.com sued Manivel and the six others who received the money.
Last Friday, the company won a court ruling ordering the defendants to repay all of the money and to cover legal expenses that were incurred — plus 10% interest, which amounts to $27,369.64.
The Post reached out to Crypto.com for comment.
Manivel used some of the money to buy a four-bedroom, four-bathroom house in Melbourne as a gift to her sister, Thilagavathy Gangadory, according to court papers. The home is said to be worth $1.35 million.
Crypto.com filed court papers in February. The company managed to freeze Manivel’s accounts, but by then most of the money had been dispersed to Gangadory and the other five people named in the legal filing.
Since Gangadory’s name was listed as the registered owner of the home, Crypto.com asked the courts to freeze her bank accounts.
A judge also ordered that the property be sold and that the proceeds be used to reimburse Crypto.com.
Gangadory was forced to sell the home while also being required to pay interest on the money that was taken.
The company has been unable to get in touch with Manivel and the other defendants about the remaining funds.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
