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Florida woman goes to ATM to withdraw $20, discovers almost $1B in account

June 22, 2021 | 7:01am | Updated June 22, 2021 | 8:22am

A Florida woman reportedly wanted to withdraw $20 from an ATM and was stunned to discover her account boasted what she believed was a jaw-dropping balance of nearly $1 billion.

When Julia Yonkowski, of Largo, checked her Chase Bank balance before making the small withdrawal Saturday, her receipt showed $999,985,855.94 in her account, WFLA reported.

The stunned customer told the outlet that she wanted to return the massive amount because she could not get a real person to talk to at her bank.

“Oh my God, I was horrified. I know most people would think they won the lottery but I was horrified,” Yonkowski told the news outlet.

“When I put in for the $20, the machine came back and said we’ll give you the $20 but that’ll cause an overdraft and you will be charged and I said, ‘Oh just forget it,’” she said, adding that she hasn’t touched her account since.

But Chase spokeswoman Amy Bonitatibus clarified to The Post on Tuesday that what Yonkowski thought was a balance was actually a negative in that amount that the bank posted to draw her attention to a freeze on her account after a death in the family.

 “Our local branch and customer service group spoke to Mrs. Yonkowski yesterday to clarify the discrepancy,” the rep told The Post.

Julia Yonkowski went to her local bank and found she had $999,985,855.94 in her account.
Julia Yonkowski went to her local bank and found she had $999,985,855.94 in her account.
WFLA

The institution posts arbitrary figures in some cases to draw customers’ attention after failing to reach them to unfreeze accounts.

Yonkowski earlier told WFLA: “I know I’ve read stories about people that took the money or took out money, and then they had to repay it and I wouldn’t do that anyway because it’s not my money.”

She added: “It kind of scares me because you know with cyber threats. You know I don’t know what to think.”

Julia Yonkowski's receipt showing her account balance.
Julia Yonkowski’s receipt showing her account balance.
WFLA

Before the mix-up was resolved, she told WFLA that she could not get through to Chase.

“I get tied up with their automated system and I can’t get a person,” she told the outlet.