Indiana Man Checks Bank Account To Find $8.2 Million Instead Of his $1,700 Stimulus Payment

An Indiana man who received his stimulus payment, checked his bank account to see that $8.2 million had been deposited.

As we all await our stimulus payments in the mail or by direct deposit, one man was pleasantly surprised to find millions in his account instead of the $1,700 check he was expecting. Charles Calvin works as a volunteer firefighter in New Chicago and told WGN that he found out about his government-issued millions when he went to withdraw $200 from a Family Express ATM. Calvin checked his balance and saw that he had $8.2 million in his account.

“Holy crap, this has got to be wrong. I’m like, ‘What in the world is going on? There’s no way I have $8.2 million in my bank account,” he explained to The Times of Northwest Indiana. He ended up calling his bank on Monday, which confirmed that he actually had a balance of $13.69. The bank said that the ATM more than likely printed out the wrong balance on its receipts. Calvin said he’d like the mixup to be fixed because other people who are expecting their checks may be concerned.

“It scared the hell out of me,” Calvin said.” I live paycheck to paycheck to paycheck just like everybody else. I’m a volunteer fireman. I can’t have no bad look on me and on my department.” Even though Calvin couldn’t keep the bands, he said if he could have, he would have shared it with his community. “I just want to do right by my town and by myself. I’ve got standards, and I’m not going to bust that for nobody,” Calvin said. “I want to be upfront and honest and a good-standing citizen in my town.”

Since then, Calvin’s $1,700 check has been deposited, and the millions are no longer there. Regardless, Calvin’s spirits haven’t been jaded. “It kind of sucks,” he told WGN 9. “You go from being a millionaire one second then back to being broke again. But hey, once you’re poor, you don’t have anywhere else to go but up.”

Back in March, the Treasury Department announced it would be distributing stimulus checks to Americans across the country as unemployment and business closures rise in numbers due to the coronavirus plaguing the nation. Eligible taxpayers will receive checks up to $1,200 for individuals, and married couples will receive $2,400, and an additional $500 for each qualifying child.