Student returns check for a half-billion dollars


Let's face it: We could all imagine what to do with a little extra cash. But when Allen Smith received his monthly Veterans Affairs dependency check, it contained an unimaginable amount. Instead of the usual $650, it was made out for a half-billion dollars. Billion.

The 22-year-old receives a dependency check from the Department of the Treasury to help with college expenses, because his father served in the U.S. Air Force. It's just usually not that much.

Still, that's a lot of textbooks.

Smith's mother, Patricia Attwood Smith, told WTVM, "He immediately, immediately went to the VA officer at Fort Benning ... (and) turned in the check." She added she is proud of her son and knows his father is smiling down on him.

So where does the $690,000,000 actually belong? That remains a mystery.

Smith was told the check could have been a misprint or the office could have been hacked. The VA inspector general assured Attwood Smith that the check will get back to where it belongs.