Wednesday, January 28, 2026 - A man who was paid 330 times his salary after an extraordinary payroll error was allowed to keep the money after a lengthy legal battle.
The unusual case occurred in Santiago, Chile, where an
employee of Consorcio Industrial de Alimentos (CIAL), a business group
specialising in the production and marketing of processed foods across Latin
America, was accidentally paid 330 times his salary.
In May 2022, the distribution assistant, who was expecting
500,000 pesos (about €522), discovered that 165,398,851 million Chilean pesos –
roughly $180,000 or €172,000 – had been deposited into his account.
“At first, the lucky man informed the company about what had
happened and even promised to go to the bank to personally arrange the refund
and return the excess amount. But he must have thought better of it and
disappeared instead,” reported Diario Financiero .
For three days, he could not be reached and did not show up
for work. After 72 hours, he submitted a formal letter of resignation through
his solicitor, effectively keeping the money while ending his employment.
The company quickly filed a criminal complaint for theft,
arguing that the employee had no right to the money. However, during the
subsequent three-year legal battle, the worker’s lawyers maintained that there
was no theft: the deposit was made entirely by mistake, and the employee had
not manipulated or interfered with the payment system.
“There was no deception, fraud or any prior manoeuvre,” they insisted,
emphasising that “the deposit was the sole responsibility of the company and
that the worker simply received the transfer into his account.”
In September 2025, the Santiago court ruled in favour of the
employee. Judges concluded that the act did not constitute theft, but rather
"unauthorised appropriation", an offence that is not punishable under
Chilean law.
The court explained that the deposit was a mistake made by
the company without the employee's involvement, there was no provable intention
to appropriate the money, and the employee did not force or manipulate the
payment system. Because the case was classified as unauthorised appropriation
rather than theft, the charges were dismissed.
Had he been convicted of theft, the employee could have
faced up to 540 days in prison, a criminal record, and the obligation to return
the money. Instead, the court allowed him to keep the unusual windfall.
The dispute is not necessarily over, however. CIAL has
stated it may pursue a civil action to recover the funds. “CIAL will take all
legal action available under the regulations, filing an appeal for annulment,
so that the ruling can be reviewed,” a company spokesperson told Diario
Financiero.
Experts advise that if employees discover an overpayment,
they should act quickly and transparently, notifying payroll or human resources
in writing. According to Spanish consultancy Legatik, if more than a year
passes without the company seeking repayment, “the employee is no longer
legally obliged to return the excess amount under Spanish law.”
For now, the former CIAL employee is free to enjoy the
extraordinary deposit that changed his life.
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