History Main / SuspiciousSpending

* In ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}} [[Recap/AsterixInSwitzerland in Switzerland]]'', Governor Varius Flavus embezzles from his district's tax revenues so that he can throw lavish parties for himself and his friends. The massive disparity between what he spends on orgies and what he reports as his district's income and sends on to Rome gets Caesar to send [[IntimidatingRevenueService Quaestor Vexatius Sinusitus to audit his books]]. When Sinusitus flat-out makes mention of this while eyeing the lavish palace, Flavus merely handwaves it with "you can do a lot with good taste" while handing him [[TamperingWithFoodAndDrink the poisoned vegetable broth]] to get rid of him before he can actually look through the spending records.
* In the ''ComicBook/{{Shadowland}}'' Power-Man tie-in, Victor Alvarez the new Power-Man is confronted by his mother about where he's getting all of the extra money he's been providing to help pay the bills since she found out he actually quit his old job working at a pizza parlor (and the money he's been bringing in is too much to be explained by a job like that anyway). She accuses him of drug dealing, not knowing he's been earning money as a superhero for hire.

* In ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'', Jimmy berates a fellow conspirator in the Lufthansa heist for buying his wife a fur coat and a conspicuous pink Cadillac. Jimmy says that he specifically told everyone ''not'' to make big purchases yet because the cops will be watching them in particular, and does not care when the man tries to defend the purchase by saying that the car is under his mother-in-law's name. Henry is given a small share and is likewise told not to spend it, to which he agrees, but the movie then {{Gilligan Cut}}s to him shouting to his family that he bought the most expensive Christmas tree he could. General fear about the problems associated with this trope, in addition to simple greed, leads to Jimmy having most of the co-conspirators killed in lieu of payment.

** After Lalo is arrested for murder and arson, the judge sets his bail at $7 million in hard cash. He has no trouble paying it ([[TraumaCongaLine Jimmy less so]]), but the prosecutors are alerted to this and start looking into "Jorge de Guzman" for potential illegal activities. Jimmy even tells him his alias isn't going to last long as a result of this, though Lalo intends to flee the country before investigators discover the truth.

* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'', has Daniel Warmolt, an IT guy and newcomer drug dealer who spends his drug money on a ''bright yellow'' pimped-out [[HummerDinger Hummer H2 with red flames on the side and spinning rims]]. Mike, his bodyguard, sees this stupidly flashy car and immediately stops providing his services (especially since Daniel refuses to ride in Mike's more subtle 1980s Chrysler). Later, when Daniel calls in a burglary at his house, the cops see the Hummer and quickly become suspicious. Finally, when Daniel has to trade the Hummer to Nacho to get his baseball cards back, Nacho promptly announces his intention to strip it and sell it for parts, since he's smart enough to not be caught driving a vehicle that "looks like a school bus for six-year-old pimps".

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrolls''

* ''You'', of all people, will fall victim to this in ''VideoGame/PapersPlease'' if you choose to keep the [[LaResistance Order of the Ezic Star]]'s bribe for aiding them instead of burning it; being a lowly border guard in an 80s Communist dictatorship, your regular pay is beyond abysmal, so your neighbours -- who are implied to be ideological party hardliners -- will grow suspicious of your sudden wealth and report you to the SecretPolice.

* ''Series/{{Psych}}'': Shawn suspects a nanny of being a burglar because she wears expensive designer sunglasses. [[spoiler:It turns out she used to work at the store selling those sunglasses, meaning she's innocent and either got the sunglasses with an employee discount [[FiveFingeredDiscount or stole them.]]]]

* In late December 1992, 9-year old [[https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katie_Beers_kidnapping Katie Beers]] disappeared. Police were suspicious of the story told by the last person to see her, a family friend who claimed to have lost track of her at an arcade and so had him followed. As it turned out, they were correct -- the man was holding the girl [[BunkerWoman prisoner in his basement]] and growing increasingly frustrated as he needed supplies but didn't dare to buy anything lest the cops see this and instantly take him in for questioning or arrest him.

Compare ConspicuousConsumption and FellOffTheBackOfATruck. Sometimes related to FriendsRentControl, InformedPoverty, ImprobableFoodBudget, and ForeignMoneyIsProofOfGuilt. If you're completely unable to do anything useful with the money, it's MoneyForNothing. Contrast AffluentAscetic.

It might not actually be illegal money. It could be the spouse's money, or family inheritance, or simply that the character has chosen to skimp in other areas to have one or two things that are nicer than they "should" be able to afford. Even in the cases where the money isn't obtained by illegal means, though, people ''suspect'' that it was, so gossip is rampant.

Compare ConspicuousConsumption and FellOffTheBackOfATruck. Sometimes related to FriendsRentControl, InformedPoverty, ImprobableFoodBudget and ForeignMoneyIsProofOfGuilt. If you're completely unable to do anything useful with the money, it's MoneyForNothing. Contrast AffluentAscetic.

** A 1970s tale brings that up again when two cops are suspected of corruption for some spending. Tracy gives them the benefit of the doubt, citing his own experiences being falsely accused just for spending a windfall (as it turns out, both cops are innocent).

* A major plot point of ''Film/BrewstersMillions1985'' is that the protagonist Brewster cannot reveal where he got his money or why he's spending it so irresponsibly as part of the condition of the will setting the main plot in motion (he has to spend off 30 million in a month to inherit 300 million). As a result this trope gets invoked repeatedly by those around him.
* In ''Film/TheCrowSalvation'', the corrupt chief of police comments this about one cop being killed by the Crow when the latter crashed into a wall with the sports car of the corrupt cop.

* In ''Film/AmericanGangster'', Frank Lucas first attracts police attention when he's spotted in the front row of a high profile boxing match wearing a mink coat.

* ''Film/ElCamino'': Todd used his cut of Walt's drug money to buy himself a huge apartment, a flatscreen TV with speakers, and lots of kitsch furniture, pretty much what you'd expect from a young criminal who struck it big (and clearly isn't into HookersAndBlow). At this point, he has no clear legal source of income, and he wouldn't have been able to afford it in his previous job as a pest exterminator either. Still, it seems he managed to stay under the radar until after his death.

--> "And money itself becomes a problem after a while. You can’t just stuff it into your wallet and then shell out a bunch of crumpled twenties and dog-eared tens when you want a pool built in your back yard or an addition put on your house. Once you get past a certain point, you have to explain where that money came from....and if your explanations aren't convincing enough, you’re apt to wind up wearing a number yourself."

* Literature/JamesBond, at the start of ''Literature/RoleOfHonour'', suddenly inherits a quarter-million pounds from an Australian uncle he has never heard of. The following spending spree [[OnOneCondition mandated by said uncle's will]] makes him seem suspicious in the eyes of his employers since coincidentally there have been a couple of Soviets (called "ambulance chasers") hiring double-agents lately. They decide to use that to make it look as if Bond was forced to resign over accusations of bribery and an "embittered" Bond would be easily recruited by that very organization to go undercover.

** In one first season episode, it quickly becomes clear that the rumors of the late Officer Rennick's corruption are true when it turns out that he has a child in college, fancy [=TV=]s, and two new cars. He told his wife that he was taking overtime to afford all of this, but he never actually worked a minute of overtime in his entire career and had been seeing another women during his supposed overtime hours.

** In the same season, Nick Sobotka warns his cousin, Ziggy, against this after the two of them steal a container of digital cameras from the docks. Ziggy ignores him. Later when Nick hands Ziggy a stack of cash in the bar where their union buddies congregate, Ziggy immediately orders [[ARoundOfDrinksForTheHouse a round of drinks for the house]] and [[MoneyToBurn lights a cigarette]] with a $100 bill. His father Frank calls him out for this with the implication that not only was it suspicious but that it was mean-spirited to throw money around in front of down-on-their luck working men. Ziggy also buys an expensive leather jacket that draws the ire of his coworkers and mockery from Cheese.

* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': In one episode, [=McGee=]'s coworkers are suspicious when he starts buying such extravagant things as a new phone, watch, clothes, car, etc. Turns out that they're right to be, because he has the money [[spoiler:as a result of his bestselling novel, which stars characters based on people he knows -- based ''only'' on people he knows.]]

* On ''Series/ScarecrowAndMrsKing'', Lee is suspicious a fellow agent is on the take when he starts spending money after years struggling on his paychecks. It turns out it's the guy's supposedly honest partner who's the real dirty agent as the other guy won a sweepstakes and couldn't resist spending.

* ''Series/BlueBloods'': In the episode "The Poor Door," a scandal hits the NYPD when the ''Daily News'' catches Louis Weems, a veteran Brooklyn North Narcotics Division detective (and former drinking buddy of Sid Gormley's) driving an expensive Ferrari convertible that, as Frank calculates, costs the equivalent of three years pay on a normal Detective's salary. Frank knows that the media will likely accuse Weems of being corrupt, so he summons Weems to 1PP for an interview and Weems explains that the extra money is because he runs a side business flipping real estate. However, Frank is skeptical, and at his insistence, Gormley digs deeper and finds that Weems skimped on many of his real estate deals through cutting corners and illegal evictions. Gormley ultimately decides not to fire Weems but leaves him with a stern warning that he won't be so lucky if he's caught cutting corners again.
* ''Series/{{Rome}}'': After the Roman Senators leave the city to escape Julius Caesar's advancing troops, the treasury is raided but subsequently found by Pullo and Vorenus, two soldiers loyal to Caesar. Pullo considers keeping the gold for themselves and goes on a spending spree around the city, visiting dozens of taverns and giving away money for free. Vorenus points out that anyone with a brain will be wondering where a Centurion with a measly salary managed to come about such a fortune and tells Pullo to give the money back to Caesar before his men come calling. This ends up saving Pullo's life from possible execution since Caesar is so happy to have deprived Pompey Magnus of any funds for his war effort that he rewards Pullo instead of punishing him for thievery.

** Therapist Sue uses her knowledge of Marty and Helen's illegal activities to blackmail them, Marty warning Sue to be careful about spending. Imagine his reaction when this 60ish woman living in a small Missouri town shows up at Marty and Helen's house in a bright yellow Lamborghini.
* On ''Series/GoodGirls'', Beth, Annie, and Ruby keep committing what Rio says is the classic mistake of crooks: Whenever they manage to land a huge windfall, they immediately go spending it on everything from paying off huge debts to flashy clothing, jewels or even a car, not grasping how suspicious it is for three formerly struggling women to be able to afford all this.

** Bosch himself has very nice home in the hills overlooking the valley, well above a cop's price range. However, it's well known in-universe that he purchased the house with a large payout he got when a Hollywood studio made a film based on one of his cases.

* In one episode of ''Series/HogansHeroes'', Hogan has to rob a bank to get the money needed to pay off an informant after Klink unknowingly and accidentally sets the prisoner's ready supply of marks on fire. At the end of the episode, Schultz tells Hogan of a story going around the local town, of a man who stole one hundred thousand marks from a local bank, and then got caught when [[StupidCrooks he walked into the same bank the next day to deposit one hundred thousand marks into his account.]]

** Fortunately, Max can be forgiven for not noticing B.B. was corrupt before: he never interacted with him, except via phone.

* The Boss blunders this way in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2''. In the course of trying to retake Stilwater from the gang called the Ronin, a Yakuza faction trying to make their way in America, the Saints shoot up their money-making casino and make off with a heap of cash. Despite the wise plan to launder the money, it's done in the same unsubtly manner that the Ronin are able to track them down. Unfortunatley, they swiftly retaliate by [[spoiler:murdering Johnny's girlfriend]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', Timmy is constantly showing up with stuff his fairy godparents got him through magic. His usual answer when asked how he got the stuff is, "From the Internet?". There's even an episode where he is suspected of shoplifting for this very reason. [[spoiler:He then manages to catch the real shoplifter using a camera he wished for, leading his parents to stop questioning his excuse, even if they don't seem to believe it.]]

* During the Prohibition era, the police and the bootleggers were public enemies but secret partners, and the police would casually look the other way on speakeasies and gin-mills for a small fee. Many of the cops were fired when they were seen buying diamond rings and expensive furs.

* Many U.S. banks and creditors will suspect something is up if their customer suddenly starts making large purchases when they normally don't do so and/or at places that they've never been -- ex: a person from New York suddenly spending money in Arizona, etc. The institutions will either freeze/decline the purchase or call the customer to confirm that it is them authorizing the purchase and not an unauthorized party that got into their account. Most banks will suggest that you call them before making a larger than normal purchase so they can authorize it when you make the purchase. Banks may also require additional paperwork if one is withdrawing or depositing a large amount of money to ensure that the money is not being used for illegal means. For the same reason, it's also recommended you call them in advance if you're going to be traveling overseas and using your credit or debit card on your trip.

* Actually an EnforcedTrope in France, where laws punish those without visible means to gain their livelihood who are consorting with persons involved into drug trafficking, prostitution or terrorism. In cases where the declared income is vastly inferior to the real expenses, another disposition allows taxmen to calculate an imputed income based on expenses such as memberships at golf clubs and hunting lodges, rent for housing, among other clues which allow the estimation of a person's income.

* [[https://www.theinvestigators.co.nz/news/rich-kids-of-instagram-are-landing-their-parents-in-jail/ Self styled "rich kids of Instagram" have often landed their parents in hot water]] by showing off valuables beyond their parent's reported wealth.

* Actually EnforcedTrope in France, where laws punish those without visible means to gain their livelihood but who are consorting with persons involved into drug trafficking, prostitution or terrorism. In cases where the declared income is vastly inferior to the real expenses, another disposition allows taxmen to calculate an imputed income based on expenses such as memberships at golf clubs and hunting lodges, rent for housing, among other clues which allow the estimation of a person's income.

* Actually EnforcedTrope in France, where laws punish those without visible means to gain their livelihood but who are consorting with persons involved into drug trafficking, prostitution or terrorism. In cases where declared income are vastly inferior to real expenses, another disposition allows taxmen to calculate a imputed income based on expenses such as memberships at golf club and hunting lodge, rents for housing and other which allows for the estimation of an income.

* A standard police investigative technique used when a seriously large theft of money is accomplished, usually in an armored car or bank robbery: keep eyes open on the street and see if all of a sudden someone is making unusually large purchases or spending extravagantly at clubs and casinos take a look at them.

Compare ConspicuousConsumption and FellOffTheBackOfATruck. Sometimes related to FriendsRentControl, InformedPoverty, ImprobableFoodBudget and ForeignMoneyIsProofOfGuilt. If you're completely unable to do anything useful with the money, it's MoneyForNothing. Contrast AffluentAscetic

* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'', a suspected corrupt police captain has items in his office that could not have been purchased merely on his own salary. The implication ([[spoiler:later proved to be true, if the player has him arrested rather than killed]]) is that he is imposing outrageous fines on the city folk in order to bankroll his spending, [[spoiler:including a large home for himself and his family for when he retires.]]

* In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', at a certain point in the Thieves Guild questline the guild suspects [[spoiler:Mercer Frey]] of corruption since he lives a lavish and expensive lifestyle while the rest of the guild are dirt poor due to their long run of bad luck. [[spoiler:He's dipping into the guild funds using the artifact lockpick that's also the cause of said bad luck.]]

* The Boss does this in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2''. After brazenly robbing the Ronin's casino, the next mission is attempting to launder the stolen money with the same lack of subtlety, letting the Ronin find them immediately.

* A major plot point of ''Film/BrewstersMillions1985'' is that the protagonist Brewster cannot reveal where he got his money or why he's spending it so irresponsibly as part of the condition of the will setting the main plot in motion (he has to spend off 30 million in a month to inherit 300 million).

* A major plot point of ''BrewstersMillions1985'' is that the protagonist Brewster cannot reveal where he got his money or why he's spending it so irresponsibly as part of the condition of the will setting the main plot in motion (he has to spend off 30 million in a month to inherit 300 million).

** In ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice,'' as a mugger terrorizes Raven Hill, Tom gets a job working for magic shop owner Sid Foy. Sid's shop has few customers, and what money he has made recently (along with the rent from an apartment above his store) is lost in one of the muggings. Yet, less than a week later, Sid can afford to bring in lots of new stock (such as expensive computer games) to attract younger customers. [[spoiler: Sid is innocent, and the money is from a bank loan.]]

** ''The Valley of Fear'' had Holmes mention that Professor Moriarty owned a painting worth many times over his legitimate annual income- purchased for that amount, not appraised. At the time, this was the most tangible piece of evidence Holmes could find against Moriarty.

* In the Literature/GauntsGhosts novel ''Salvation's Reach'', the senior officers are suspicious of Trooper Costin because of his conspicuous wealth (he's ''so'' conspicuous that even Daur's wife, who has no investigative training, comments on it). After hard evidence emerges of a fraud scheme, they immediately look to him but realize that the ''quantity'' of money being moved is too much for the dull, unimaginative trooper to be dealing with alone. [[spoiler: His platoon leader, Captain Meryn, is behind it, and [[HeKnowsTooMuch indirectly kills Costin on the next mission]] to keep it from getting back to him]].

** When Dennis Farina was on the show, his character had a nice car, wore expensive suits, and had a massive roll of cash on him at all times, causing his partner and Lt. Van Buren to be suspicious. [[spoiler: Turned out he had independent means.]]

** Vic Mackey is the living embodiment of the idea. He's pretty smart about it, though: after [[spoiler: robbing the Armenian money train]] at the end of season two, he forces the Strike Team to sit on the cash for at least six months (or closer to a year) before investing it in a real estate deal to launder it. [[spoiler: Of course, everything goes pear-shaped by the end of season three, but it could have been a lot worse.]]

* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': In one episode, [=McGee=]'s coworkers are suspicious when he starts buying such extravagant things as a new phone, watch, clothes, car, etc. Turns out that they're right to be, because he has the money [[spoiler: as a result of his bestselling novel, which stars characters based on people he knows -- based ''only'' on people he knows.]]

* In season two of ''Series/RepublicOfDoyle'' the mayor starts driving a very expensive car which causes Jake and Leslie to suspect him of corruption. When confronted he explains that he is merely leasing the car for a few months so he can appear more successful for the upcoming re-election campaign. [[spoiler: He lied and actually bought the car using kickback money]]
** Des manages to intimidate a drug dealer into backing off when he points out that the dealer will have a hard time explaining to the police how he could afford an expensive sports car and thus cannot report Des for [[spoiler: stealing the car and shipping it back to the dealer in parts]]. The dealer does not want the trouble and stops threatening Des and Tinny.

* On ''Series/{{Suits}}'' Louis started spending a lot of money, including $60,000 for a club membership, just as Jessica and Harvey start suspecting someone in the firm of embezzlement. [[spoiler: Louis was being framed and he had so much money to spend because he is simply very good at handling his finances]].

* ''Series/TheMentalist'': In [[spoiler: "The Desert Rose"]] after Jane points out how the victim's body was stored in a freezer like that of the diner that their in (and then describes his theory) the diner owner retorts that there are lots of other diners the victim could have been robbed and killed in. Jane agrees but then points out that ''this'' diner is the only one which could afford to put a fancy sign on the highway to attract more customers.

* In ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'', Tanimura figures out that the {{dirty cop}} he's looking for is [[spoiler: Sugiuchi]] by the fact that he wears an extraordinarily expensive watch and shoes.
* A file found in the original ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' discusses how Raccoon City Police Chief Brian Irons has a habit of buying art that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, well out of the range of what he could afford. [[spoiler: He's being paid off by [[MegaCorp Umbrella]].]]
* In the third arc of ''VideoGame/Persona5'', Ryuji notes a member of the protagonist's class is doing this, stating they had gotten a "really great job" and began spending money left and right. [[spoiler: Turns out that he had been approached by Junya Kaneshiro's men in Shibuya, and is being blackmailed into silence about his job -- ''drug trafficking''. If he tries to approach the police about this, Kaneshiro's men will release pictures of him.]]

* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'', the ''Series/BreakingBad'' prequel/spinoff, does this in the form of Daniel Warmolt, an IT guy and newcomer drug dealer who spends his drug money on a ''bright yellow'' pimped-out [[HummerDinger Hummer H2 with red flames on the side and spinning rims]]. Mike, his bodyguard, sees this stupidly flashy car and immediately stops providing his services (especially since Daniel refuses to ride in Mike's more subtle 1980s Chrysler). Later, when Daniel calls in a burglary at his house, the cops see the Hummer and quickly become suspicious. Finally, when Daniel has to trade the Hummer to Nacho to get his baseball cards back, Nacho promptly announces his intention to strip it and sell it for parts, since he's smart enough to not be caught driving a vehicle that "looks like a school bus for six-year-old pimps".

* ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack: as Luscheck starts making money from smuggling things in and out of the prison, he upgrades his car and starts wearing expensive sneakers. He's never caught, however.

* ''[[Literature/Babel2022 Babel]]'' by Creator/RebeccaFKuang: {{Implied|Trope}} regarding Professor Lovell, though it's never used as evidence against him. He can afford expenses, including a second home for [[spoiler:his SecretOtherFamily]], that people note to be beyond a professor's salary, and is later exposed as being part of a secret bloc that's [[spoiler:engineering a war with China to [[NoBloodForPhlebotinum seize its silver reserves]]]].

* In ''Film/SupermanIII'', after Gus's PennyShaving scam is discovered, CorruptCorporateExecutive Ross Webster doesn't think there's any way of catching the perpetrator unless he does something really stupid. Immediately, Gus shows up in a fancy sports car far above what he could afford on his salary.

* In ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'', the Cullens spent much more than they should have been able to on [[CoolCar cool cars]], designer clothes, etc. for Carlisle being a doctor and the only source of income. Bella wondered about this before she knew about Alice being psychic and able to predict lottery results and the fluctuations of the stock market.

A character is suspected of being involved in illegal activities because he owns things he shouldn't be able to afford on his modest salary (a big house, fancy sports car, expensive watch, etc.) or does costly activities (equestrian sports).