A bank has filed suit against an Altoona, Pa., man after he spent part of a $280,276.76 deposit mistakenly put into his account.

Herbert Starbird said he phoned First Commonwealth Bank several times after the money appeared in his account Oct. 23 and he was repeatedly told that the deposit was accurate and his account balance was correct, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Friday.

He said it wasn't until he and his wife had spent $157,206.12 of their mysterious windfall that the bank noticed the money had been deposited into the wrong account.

The lawsuit, filed in Blair County Court, seeks the spent money plus interest and legal fees.

This lawsuit might actually help my client if it goes to trial with a jury of his peers, Starbird's attorney, Thomas Dickey, told the Tribune-Review. "He called the bank a couple of times to give the money back, and they told him it was his. It took them four months to say 'oops,' and in the meantime, he was spending money on legitimate things.

Now, the bank wants to make money on him by charging him interest.

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