A mother stumbled upon an envelope with more than $3,000 inside but knew she couldn’t keep the money.
Chanti Carter-Rene of New Jersey discovered the money in front of a local restaurant.
She found the treasure during a break from work and was heading to the post office, as reported by the outlet NJ.com.
Carter-Rene ran back to her office and printed up posters hoping someone would come forward and say they lost the money.
The money was in a Citibank envelope, so she went to a branch and handed over the money.
It turns out the money belonged to Chris Gagnon, who lost the money just minutes after withdrawing it from his account.
He tried to put the envelope in his jacket pocket, but didn’t realize there was a hole in it.
It was only when he returned home from the bank that Gagnon learned the money was missing.
“I’m calling the bank, I’m calling everyone,” he told NJ.com in 2014.
Gagnon returned to the bank and was relieved when an employee informed him that the money had been delivered.
Carter-Rene didn’t take any money home, but she did receive a phone call from Gagnon.
“I said ‘I just wanted to say a big thank you,’” he said.
But the mother knew she couldn’t keep what didn’t belong to her.
“The guilt would kill me,” she admitted.
She handed over the money – even though she was trying to save up to buy an apartment.
Meanwhile, Barb and Jerry Derome also found money while hiking.
Rules for finding money
The saying “discoverers, keepers
Although state and local laws may differ slightly, most will require you to try to find the owner of the money.
If you do not make reasonable efforts to locate the owner, many states may charge you with burglary or theft of lost property.
The penalty will likely be based on the value of the lost property, as larger finds that are kept without making reasonable efforts to find the owner may be classified as a felony rather than a misdemeanor.
The term reasonable efforts includes asking people nearby if they dropped any money, checking the envelope or wallet (if any) for identification, dropping it off at a nearby store, or contacting the police via a hotline. non-emergency.
Some laws will authorize the police to return the money to the finder if no one claims it after a period of time.
Always check local and state laws, which will likely dictate what to do if you find property or money.
It is also advisable that you contact the police or a criminal defense lawyer who can help you understand what the law states and how you should proceed.
Source: Criminal Defense Lawyer
They stumbled upon an envelope containing $1,000.
The money appeared to have been abandoned in the grass, but the couple faced no questions about whether they should keep the money.
They ended up handing the envelope over to the police because they thought it was the right thing to do.
“It’s not our money and we need to at least make some attempt to find the owner and if that’s not the case, it will go where it needs to go,” Barb told the CBS affiliate. WNCN in November.
Police said at the time they would keep the money for nine months.
If no one comes forward, the money will be given to the Deromes.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
