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5th October 2025
05:53pm BST
A man who suddenly quit his job after he was accidentally paid over 300 times his salary has won a court battle to keep the money.
The man worked as an office assistant at the food company Dan Consorcio Industrial de Alimentos de Chile. He would usually earn £386 a month.
However, in May of 2022, his employers ended up paying him £127,000.
The company claimed he initially agreed to return the money, yet three days later, the worker handed in his notice instead.
He was accused of theft during a three-year legal battle.
A judge in Santiago has since ruled it was not stealing, but 'unauthorised collection'.
This means the court is unable to prosecute the crime.
The company has since said they are determined to win back the money.
In a statement to Diario Financiero, they said: "We will take all possible legal steps, particularly an application for annulment, to have the ruling reviewed."
This is not the first time an employee has outsmarted his employers.
It comes as a work-from-home police officer tricked his bosses into thinking he was swept up in solving cases by jamming a key on his computer.
Skiving Detective Constable Niall Thubron (33) was accused of 'key jamming'; holding down a single key so it looked like he was typing.
The Durham police officer reportedly jammed his keyboard on 28 occasions over the course of almost two weeks.
It was alleged he intended to 'give the impression' that he was 'completing tasks' while 'working from home', per Metro.
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