Bartender Accidentally Found ATM Glitch And Got $1.6Million Before Blowing The Lot In Five-Month Spending Spree

A bartender who won $1.6 million due to an ATM error was able to lose an incredible sum of money in just five months.

When Dan Saunders discovered that he could move an "infinite" amount of money between his savings and credit accounts, his fortunes completely changed.

When the Australian attempted to withdraw $200 AUD, the cash machine displayed an error message that said, "Transaction Cancelled."

(Image: A Current Affair)

A little buzzed Dan persisted in his attempts to withdraw the cash and succeeded.

The bartender continued doing this till he had $1,300 in cash later on when he walked past the machine once again.

He called his bank the following morning because he thought it was too good to be true, but they found nothing unusual about his account.

(Image: A Current Affair)

The ATM did, however, become disconnected from the bank's network sometime between one and three in the morning, he discovered.

It was said that the transaction wouldn't be registered until the following day, which put him in debt. Even yet, he was still allowed to go once the clock struck 12.

Dan would buy drinks for everyone at his neighborhood bar out of his "addictive" fortune.

"I felt like a caveman discovering fire," he told VICE.

(Image: A Current Affair)

He even spent a whopping $54k chartering a 20-seater private jet for his friend.

"It was a mix of old friends and new faces. We hired the whole resort, the over-water villas, and ate and drank there," he previously told The Sun Online.

“I opened the book on anything – people just gave me their dreams and I fulfilled them.”

He once picked up tourists from Melbourne hostels and drove them to one of his pool parties.

Even more, he sent one friend to study in France and paid off his friend's university debt.

He confessed to a therapist once the guilt became intolerable, and the therapist suggested that he tell the police.

“One night I had a nightmare that the SWAT team was out the front of the hotel room I was staying in," he said.

In June 2011, after he had spent all the money, he contacted his bank. He was informed that police will contact him.

Dan spoke to various newspapers and participated in a TV interview with The Current Affair after receiving no response from the police.

Despite admitting his crimes, it took three years for him to be arrested on 111 counts of theft and fraud.

"I just sat back and pleaded guilty and sort of let it all unfold in front of me," he said.

In May 2016, he served a year in prison before returning to his hourly wage of $13.50 job in a bar.

He is now telling his story in a podcast called The Glitch that Podshape publishes. You can find it on Spotify.