The Liberia National Police (LNP) has charged and forwarded to court a Paynesville-based mobile money merchant for allegedly withdrawing and transferring funds that were mistakenly deposited into his account following a banking error at the United Bank for Africa (UBA).
The suspect, Leroy Cooper, owner of Leroy Cooper Business Branch #3, has been charged with Theft of Property and Theft of Property Lost, Mislaid, or Delivered by Mistake after an investigation by the LNP’s Property Crime Unit.
Police said the incident occurred on June 1, 2026, when a UBA customer intended to transfer L$250,000 to Cooper’s MTN Mobile Money account. However, a bank teller mistakenly transferred US$250,000 instead of the intended Liberian dollar amount.
According to investigators, the error was discovered during the bank’s routine reconciliation process. By then, Cooper had allegedly transferred portions of the money to several mobile money accounts and withdrawn about US$45,000.
Police said Cooper admitted noticing that the amount credited to his account was far greater than what he expected. Rather than reporting the mistake, investigators allege that he discussed the matter with relatives and associates before moving some of the funds.
After discovering the error, UBA alerted MTN LoneStar Cell, which froze the remaining balance before it could be withdrawn.
Investigators found no evidence of criminal intent on the part of the bank teller and concluded that the transfer resulted from human error. However, police maintain that Cooper knowingly used funds that did not belong to him.
The case has been forwarded to court and is expected to attract public attention because of the amount involved and the legal issues surrounding mistaken electronic transfers. Legal observers say the outcome could help shape how similar cases are handled in Liberia in the future.
