A BARTENDER who lived like a rockstar after exploiting an ATM glitch to send himself millions of pounds says he has no regrets – and only got caught because he came clean.
Dan Saunders was drinking with a pal in Wangaratta, Australia, when he tried to transfer $200 (£96) from his credit card to his current account to pay for a round.
Dan Saunders pictured by a private jet with flutes of champagne standing with two female pals[/caption]
Dan lived the high roller life until he confessed to his crime[/caption]
Dan spent the cash of partying, travelling and also gave some away to those in need[/caption]
It was then that the cash point glitched and returned his card, depositing the money in his current account without affecting the balance on his credit card.
Four months later, he’d spent $1.6m (£775,000) on private jets, hotel suites, and lavish parties – living a rockstar lifestyle on the bank’s money.
And while he eventually came clean, served his time, and now puts his energy into good causes, he still fondly remembers those whirlwind few months.
He told The Sun: “It was like Christmas. It was an amazing feeling.
“I knew it was wrong but I also knew that it was the greatest feeling that I’ve ever had in my life.
“I was walking around as an average guy one day, and then suddenly you’ve got all this money, and you’re desirable to people that would normally never look at you twice.
“You can go anywhere, you don’t have to answer to anyone, and you can also spread the joy among your friends so they can come along for the journey.”
To exploit the glitch, Dan used the ATM between midnight and 1am, when he was allowed to send himself six-figure sums, despite the $2,000 limit on his card.
And since the bank wouldn’t recall the funds for over 24 hours, he could just send himself more money the next night to stop his account being overdrawn.
The spending started small, with taxi rides and random acts of generosity.
But after losing his job and his girlfriend in quick succession, Mr Saunders left Wangaratta for the big city, moving to Melbourne.
Soon the brakes were off.
He said: “It was a life of presidential hotel suites, lots of friends I will never remember the names of, lots of hangers-on, partying, bottle service, and drinks.
“We were trying something bigger every day, stupid stuff like we’d go and give buskers $500, or tip a cabbie $200.
“We’d go to the strip club and have every single person in the place jumping because we were shouting all the drinks and all the girls’ dances.”
After realising that the bank wouldn’t reverse money transfers over the weekend, he even chartered a private jet to Bali for himself and 14 friends.
“We spent a few days, took some girls and some drinks, and just had a good time,” recalled Dan.
Footing the bill was the National Australia Bank (NAB).
To show his appreciation, Mr Saunders threw them a party.
He said: “There’s this place called the Watermark bar underneath the NAB headquarters in Melbourne.
Dan wearing a robe in a hotel room[/caption]
Dan pictured by a yacht[/caption]
Posed up next to a private jet wearing a tuxedo[/caption]
He had a brief few months of living the high life[/caption]
“So we put this sign up at the bottom of the escalator on a Friday saying ‘free drinks at the Watermark bar’.
“We filled the bar up with NAB employees and we’re paying for all the drinks with the bank’s money.
“My friend got up and made a speech saying how it’s been such a great year, we really appreciate the bank’s help, and we look forward to working with you in the future.
“No one knew who we were, they were just happy to have the free drinks and clapped.”
Mr Saunders wasn’t just changing his own life either.
“We were giving money away,” he said.
“Getting people around in a room, explaining to them that you have the means to make their dreams come true, and that you’re willing to do it.
“We gave $20,000 to someone for their honeymoon and sent a lady to France to study French, because that was her dream.
“She met someone over there and now lives in Paris, with her French husband and she’s completely loving life.”
But it couldn’t last forever.
“Physically I thought I was going to die because it was just one party after another,” said Dan.
“Also you just couldn’t tell who your friends were.
“If you’ve got a lot of money, you don’t really know exactly what someone’s agenda is.
“I knew that it wasn’t what I was meant to be doing. I knew it wasn’t my story.”
Dan discovered the glitch in February 2011, and called the bank to confess four months later.
He’d spent an estimated $1.6m, and at times he’d had as much as $5m (£2.4m) in his account.
What crime was Dan convicted of?
DAN Saunder’s exploitation of the ATM glitch landed him with 12 months in jail.
He was sentenced on charges of fraud and theft after blowing $1.6million of the bank’s cash.
And once Dan was released from prison, he had to serve 18 months on licence.
He was also ordered to pay almost $250,000 to the National Australia Bank.
Mr Saunders recalled: “The bank said you’re in a lot of trouble, the matter’s been referred to the police.
“But then time went past and no one ever came to get me.”
Even then, he might have got away with it if he’d just kept his head down.
But Dan wanted the situation resolved one way or the other, so he went public.
He said: “I called their bluff in a way and just admitted to it very publicly.
“I think the fact that it became public made it something they had to just address.”
He’d already come clean in several articles by the time he appeared on A Current Affair, an Aussie TV show, in late 2014.
He was finally arrested a few days later.
Convicted in 2015, he was jailed for a year.
Ten years on, the 44-year-old has got no regrets – but now puts his efforts into helping people suffering with gambling addiction, and working for charities.
“I think it was great to do it once,” he said.
“I feel like I’ve got closer to where I’m comfortable with being as a human in this world.
“And I know that all the trappings and all the money in the world, it’s not actually it.”
What is Dan doing now?
HE was a jet setter with millions in the bank, then he was a jailbird, but where is ATM trickster Dan Saunders now?
Today the 44-year-old volunteers for the Gambling Impact Society, educating young people about the perils of addiction.
Gambling played a part in Dan’s downfall too – soon after discovering the glitch, he tried to win enough money to reimburse the bank.
“I was gambling at the pub where I used to work,” he said.
“And we were gambling so much that we gambled more in one night than the pub would turn over in a month.
“I got fired because of that.”
These days, Mr Saunders pays the bills by managing holiday lets in Byron Bay.
And though his story is set to become a feature film, Australia’s proceeds of crime law means he won’t profit from it.
Now it’s his charity work that gives him purpose.
He said: “I do the most fulfilling thing in my life right now, and I never would have got there if I hadn’t had all these experiences with the bank and the gambling.
“I go and help young people who’ve got a gambling addiction and help them to get out of it.
“And that is the most satisfying thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
