If I found $10,000 on the ground...?

Question

Would i legally be allowed to keep it? Does it matter what it is i pick off the ground or much it is?

Answer 1

In many places, there are laws covering this. In the state of Alabama, if you keep it, you can be charged with Theft of Lost Property 1st Degree. That's a felony.

There are two main qualifications for Theft of Lost Property. First, you find seemingly abandoned property that does not belong to you. Second, you do not make "reasonable effort to return it to the lawful owner." If you make a visible, reasonable effort (the amount of effort would depend on the value of the property), and nobody comes forward with a valid claim, you can legally keep it. For something worth this amount of money, you contact the police and turn it over to them. If it is not claimed in a certain period of time, you have legal rights to claim it.

Technically, if you find a penny on the ground and keep it, it's Theft of Lost Property. But for a penny, the reasonable effort to return it to the lawful owner could be looking around for anyone close enough to have just dropped it.

Answer 2

Regardless of whose money it is, You know that it is not yours.
If it were 5 or 10 dollars cash in a public place. Park or something. That is one thing. But 10,000. Dollars. Somebody is missing it.

Besides turning it in being the right thing to do, It may be stolen money. There may be a tracking device in it. There are probably marked bills. It could be counterfeit money or ransom money.
It could be (to borrow a term from scriptures) Blood Money.

[It could be an old person's life savings which she kept under her mattress. Maybe a dishonest eldercare person took it and then panicked and left it hoping someone would turn it in so the old person could claim it back.]

A warning, If you spend it and you are found out, You will owe it back.
And what else did you expect? You knew that it was not yours.

If the bank gives you too much money, it is not yours to keep. Don't spend it. Call them before they call you and tell them that you received too much money.
You will save them a lot of work and you will feel good about who your are.

This in itself can save you a fortune on doctors and medicines.

I can understand taking a moment to think, Wow, What I can do with that. Like the, "what would I do with the money if I won the lottery" Daydream.

If you keep it you will get a life sentence. The life sentence is that for the rest of your life, even if no one finds out, You will know that you kept someone else's money. You will not trust other people and they will not trust you. Without even knowing it you will reveal to people that you cannot be trusted.

You see you are only honest if you are honest when no one is looking and there is no chance of getting caught. Otherwise you are just scared.

Lead us not into Temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.
The greater the temptation, the more certain you know it is a test of the evil one.

I pray that God protects me from the little things that I do wrong which can add up to a mountain. The big things are more obvious. I can see them from far away.


God Bless you, ;-)

Answer 3

The right thing to do is to turn it into the police. If someone doesn't claim it, and have documentation to back it up, then the money is legally yours. At that point you will have to report it on your taxes and they will want at least $3,000. That's the right thing to do.

What if your grandmother had just cleaned out her savings account to pay for a car or something?

What if the money is from a charity that had money stolen, and the guy dropped it?

Since you don't know were the money comes from, the right thing to do is turn it in.



However, you have to also understand that no one can trace that cash. Go buy a candy bar and get it down below 10K. If you are caught with less than 10K on your person, you don't have to explain anything because that's not illegal. If you deposit anything less than 10K the bank does not report it. Therefore, you can technically deposit half in the back one day and the other half in the bank the other day, and no one would ask you a single question.

You can get away with keeping it, but morally it isn't right. Just because you can get away with something doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

Answer 4

In Australia there is a criminal charge called "steal by finding" which pretty much covers this.

It is illegal to keep the money. so no legally you may not keep it. the legal thing to do is to hand it in to police and ask them for a receipt for the money. if it remains inclaimed I think that you can claim the money but you would need to check this out with a person of the legal profession.

the same goes for $5 as for $10 000 it is still steal by finding.

however if you had asked what would I do with it my answer would be that I would hang onto it for a few weeks and keep an eye out for notices of missing or stolen money if nothing appeared then I would keep the money. I would not bank it. I would use it to live off while allowing my income to accumulate in my account.... in that way there is no way of anyone suspecting anything from large or unusual transactions in my account..and I would pay my debts with it...

I know others will decry me for not turning it over to the police but honestly.... how hard would it be for a police officer to tell a friend of a find like that and the friend then comes to the station to claim it... no really assurance it would end up with the rightful owner anyway.

Answer 5

If someone can prove it is theirs, then it's theirs. You can find a car on the ground, but that doesn't mean you can take it. If you find money in public, legally you should report it so the legal owner can claim it. But the chances of someone finding out you have it and proving it is theirs is pretty small. If you have no moral problem with it, keep it.

Answer 6

I really could use that kind of money, but I would Have to call the Police Dept. and ask if anyone has reported any lost money and if so what amount.

Answer 7

I think you're supposed to get an accurate count or identification of what it is you found and somehow alert the public. If they can properly identify it, then they have a valid claim....else you can keep it. $10k is enough that it is probably illegal...so I doubt anyone will risk getting caught ...if it is truly theirs.

Answer 8

If there is any identification on the money (bank wrappers, etc.) then you must turn it in. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for such a find if I were you. People don't really carry that kind of cash around.

Answer 9

What you should do is give me the money. If it turns out that it belongs to someone who says they lost it, then no problem....

Answer 10

You would need to turn it over to the Police.If nobody claims it in a certain period of time you can keep it.