Collier man arrested for spending $13,000 wrongfully put in his bank account

Author: Jennifer Jones
Published:

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. – A Collier County man spent more than $13,000 of your money when Medicaid funds were mistakenly transferred into his bank account.

He tells WINK News he just wants to clear his name of any wrong doing.

“I was pretty convinced that it was somebody from up there helping me out but I never knew it would turn into this, I never knew.”

In July, more than $13,000 appeared in Radovan Stamenkovich’s bank account and he didn’t know where it came from.

“Either my dad, or something that happened, or God.”

The 24-year-old says he let the money sit in his account for two months before he spent it.

Investigators said he went on a shopping spree, spending $10,000 in 45 days. He spent the money at Best Buy, on a license plate and title, bought numerous Xboxes, withdrew thousands of dollars from the bank and even made several transactions in two other states.

“You gotta remember I thought this money was mine.”

But investigators say it wasn’t, it was actually Medicaid money mistakenly put into his account due to a key stroke error. On Thursday deputies arrested Stamenkovich for grand theft.

“I never got a note that the money was false, I never got a letter or a phone call from my bank or whoever has done this, wrongfully deposited it.”

“Clearly you’d be sympathetic and you want to be because all the sudden the money shows in and believe that the defendant perhaps utilized his best efforts in discovering whether or not it’s his,” said Joe Davidow, a trial attorney.

He tells WINK News if Stamenkovich is found guilty he faces five years in prison.

“I just want it all to just be resolved. If I have to pay the money back or if anything happens I’ll do it,” said Stamenkovich.

When investigators asked where the money came from Stamenkovich said he thought it was from his father’s death benefits. His father passed away in 2001.

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