The $999,000 Error
Description
A letter arrives from the United States addressed to Chareng Magpali, who lives in the wilds of the Philippines. Narcisso Esmilla, a lawyer and neighbor, translates it. Chareng’s sister has died, and her estate has sent a Manila bank a $1,000 check made out to Chareng. The lawyer volunteers to pick up the money, but when he sees the check is worth $1 million—a computer error—he gives Chareng $1,000 and heads for Brazil with what’s left: $999,000.
CBS Radio Mystery Theater is a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS Radio Network affiliates from 1974 to 1982, and later in the early 2000s was repeated by the NPR satellite feed. In New York City it was not aired by the then all-news WCBS but by its originating station, WOR, which produced and announced it as simply Radio Mystery Theater.
Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Updated Jul 16, 2026.
