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A state court has denied an appeal by a man who stole more than half of the $280,000 his bank deposited in his account by mistake.

Here's a tip. If your bank accidentally deposits $280,000 in your account, don't spend it.

Herbert Arthur Starbird didn't follow that advice, and now he's on the hook to repay more than $157,000.

In a recent ruling, a state Superior Court panel refused to overturn his theft and receiving stolen property convictions or take Starbird off that onerous payment plan.

Starbird's run-in with the law can be traced to Oct. 23, 2007 when a new teller at the First Commonwealth Bank in Blair County accidentally deposited the $280,000 into his account. Three days earlier, bank officials had told Starbird his account was overdrawn.

Instead of contacting the bank about the mistake, Starbird started withdrawing money and writing checks, investigators said. They said he had burned through more than half of the accidental cash by the time bank officials discovered the mistake four months later.

Starbird, 65, of Altoona, was arrested after refusing the bank's offer to re-mortgage his home to repay the money he stole. He was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to 7 years of probation, plus restitution and a $100 fine.

On appeal to the state court, Starbird argued that he deserves a new trial because his lawyer didn't call a detective as a witness. He claimed that detective could have testified to errors in the investigation and to the fact that Starbird had made a good faith payment of $5,500 to the bank.

In the state court opinion denying Starbird's appeal, Senior Judge James J. Fitzgerald III agreed with an earlier conclusion by county President Judge Jolene Grubb Kopriva that the evidence against Starbird was "overwhelming" and the detective's testimony wouldn't have led to an acquittal.