MAN MISTAKENLY RECEIVES TOWN’S COVID RELIEF MONEY; GAMBLES IT AWAY

A man in a small Japanese town was mistakenly wired COVID relief funds that were meant to go to the low-income residents of the town. He gambled it away. Sho Taguchi, a 24-year-old jobless resident in the town of Abu in western Japan, was arrested on Wednesday after admitting to spending most of the 46.3 million yen ($360,000) of taxpayers’ money on gambling. Each of the 463 low-income households in Abu was supposed to receive a portion of the money. But Mr. Taguchi’s name was first on the list, and a town official mistakenly transferred all the funds to his account, and he refused to give it back. Only 68,000 yen ($530) was left in his bank account after he withdrew the money 34 times in just over 10 days and lost it on an online gambling site.
* He gambled away 46.3 million yen; the rest he just wasted.
* Pandemic? PanDUMMY.
* Still, a guy could have a pretty good weekend with 68,000 yen.
* Maybe they should use what’s left to get the town some scratch tickets?