Comments on: Your Take: Would You Turn In $140,000?

By: Shanti

Shanti — Sat, 10 May 2008 21:39:43 +0000

This is really thought-provoking. My first reaction is KEEP IT! But… I am REALLY all about karma, and if it’s someone else’s, it’s only fair to give it back. After all, finders-keepers only really works in 3rd grade.

I think I would give it back. Or maybe if it were in separate bags, keep one small bag (few thousand?) and give the rest back. But considering Karma, I may just give the whole thing back and hope that someday if I loose a diamond ring or a few hundred bucks, someone would be kind enough to return it to me!

By: Glenn Lasher

Glenn Lasher — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:01:35 +0000

I would most certainly turn it in. While I have no doubt in my mind that the Brinks truck and the banks involved have this stuff insured, keeping the money would ultimately cost everyone else. It would be bad karma.

By: Funny about Money

Funny about Money — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:52:33 +0000

Hmmm…. How Stuff Works, eh? I’ll have to look that one up. Larcenously speaking, it’s hard for me to imagine what you would do with that much money. The bank will report it. I suppose you could use it to buy all your groceries and other necessities in cash and then invest the equivalent from your paycheck…but that sounds an awful lot like work.

About Dave the former limo driver’s tale: It is so wonderful when a cabby or other person who has to deal with the public all the time is kind enough to return something you’ve lost! A friend left something of value in a rental car and was told that after the car has been returned, the company’s policy is that the workers who clean it out get to keep anything they find. And that’s exactly what they did.

People who are honest bring joy into our lives.

By: Jackie

Jackie — Sun, 04 May 2008 13:23:42 +0000

Karma is a bitch. But maybe that bag of money was meant for you to find. A miracle from God. If it was me, the money was meant for me to find. College tuition,bills, ect. A heavy load would have been lifted

By: fred@opc

fred@opc — Sun, 04 May 2008 04:05:59 +0000

I’d give it back.

By: Lord

Lord — Sat, 03 May 2008 16:14:43 +0000

As far as karma goes, what makes you think karma didn’t deliver it into your lap in the first place? Seems realistic to see if anyone is looking for it, but not necessarily seek out who lost it. Given the size though, it would be a weight on your conscience and your rationalizing capability.

By: Justin

Justin — Sat, 03 May 2008 04:38:46 +0000

I’d fill up my gas tank!!!

By: Mani Lawnderer

Mani Lawnderer — Sat, 03 May 2008 02:18:41 +0000

I would take the money, and learn as much as I can about money laundering. The article on money laundering at HowStuffWorks dot com is great. There’s more stuff out there. I would also learn from the mistakes of famous money laundering operations.

By: Jared

Jared — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:55:44 +0000

Anyone can say they would do the right thing, but if most people find that kind of cash, especially if they have financial problems of their own, theres no way they would give it up. Me? I’d shove that bag down my pants and run like hell. Marked bills or not, I’d find a way to launder it and invest it to make more money. In a few years, i’ll keep what I make and turn in the “Principle” to clear my consious

By: Dave (ChiefExecutiveRockStar)

Dave (ChiefExecutiveRockStar) — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:53:21 +0000

Fun question. I used to drive limo in Vegas; starting my shift I found what I thought was a personal bag from the previous shift’s driver. I opened it to find an ID and instead discovered $5,400. I gotta say, it was quite tempting. Would have been pretty easy to pocket this. I remember ‘thinking forward’ as to what I could accomplish with the money (not a LOT of cash, but a lot when you didn’t have much). In my ‘BEST’ case scenario, I saw this small capital investment growing into a bit of a small biz, that biz growing into something great. Looking back from the future, I knew the whole thing was built on a false foundation. I called over another driver and counted it with him, then notified more than one office (just in case one office didn’t want to be as honest).

The owner of the cash was pretty cool. First thing he said to me was: So, you found my bag of $10,000, huh?

–Dave Charboneau, C.E.R.

By: Cap

Cap — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:49:01 +0000

I dunno about you, but where I live… cold hard cash in a bag can be from legit or illegitimate people. I’d rather turn it in, rather than having the wrong type of people hunting me down and “rewarding” me.

Alright that’s just paranoia. But yeah, turning it in is just the right thing to do.

By: Al

Al — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:59:12 +0000

Take the bag o’ money to Las Vegas, Reno, et. al. Feed the loot into the slot machines one bill at a time (slots don’t take coins anymore). Pull the handle once, cash out the rest (or winnings) and launder the money. Slot machines won’t know if the serial numbers are traced or not. Do a few bills at many casinos over a period of time and distance. Don’t forget to wear a disguise so the eyes in the sky don’t ID you!

By: Polly

Polly — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:33:11 +0000

Karma is our friend, but it will bite you if you get off track. I’d turn it in, too. And it isn’t about a reward, it’s about doing what’s right.

What would you do if it was a lesser amount? $1,000? $500: $100? $50? $10? $5? $1? Do you have a cut-off point???

Our local rag offers free classified ads for found items. At what point would you pocket the cash rather than place a free ad saying you found some cash, at what location, and ask that the owner identify the amount?

Food for thought.

By: Lord

Lord — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:23:15 +0000

It would be tempting, but you have to realize how inconvenient cash is, even if it is anonymous. I doubt it could be traced as it was not new issue but repackaged currency, but you couldn’t just deposit it without creating a record. Large purchases in cash would be suspicious. Spending it out of pocket would take years.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:22:52 +0000

I’d keep the money, launder it and pay off day to day expenses with it… in cash of course.