Gee: Wait, what?! Man finds $128K in cash sitting on top of an ATM

There are stories where I immediately know the right answer. Then there are stories where I know what the right answer is, but I’d still like about five minutes alone with my thoughts. This is one of those stories.

A 37-year-old barber in Lewisville, Texas, walked up to a Bank of America ATM and discovered something you generally don’t find sitting on top: $128,514 in cash. Not $128. Not $1,280. One hundred twenty-eight thousand dollars. There was also another bag that contained 19 checks.

Information on the bags led him to believe the money might belong to a nearby Chick-fil-A, so he actually drove over there trying to return it. When employees said it wasn’t theirs, he called 911.

Police eventually determined the money belonged to Bank of America and had apparently been accidentally left behind by a technician servicing the ATM. When officers counted it, every dollar was still there.

Doing the right thing is easy until you find $128K

Now, before you say, “Gee, obviously you return it.” Obviously? Because $128,514 is a whole different morality test. Imagine walking up to an ATM. Nobody around. Nobody yelling, “Hey, that’s mine!” Just you, an ATM, and enough cash to make your brain start producing some TERRIBLE ideas. Yo, this man didn’t blink.

Police said he didn’t ask for a reward or recognition and even asked not to be identified. That might impress me as much as returning the money. We live in an era where somebody helps an elderly woman across the street, and somehow there are three camera angles and a ring light.

This man found $128,000, returned every penny, and basically said, nah, I’m good. Now THAT is a flex. Now, before somebody starts yelling “finders keepers,” police said keeping the money could have resulted in a felony theft charge.

The legal question isn’t nearly as interesting as the human one. Who are you when doing the right thing gets expensive? It’s easy to talk about integrity when integrity costs you nothing. It’s different when you’re staring at $128,514 while thinking about bills, debt, mortgage payments, and everything else life has thrown at you. You might even look toward the heavens and say, “Lord, I don’t know if this is a blessing, but I’m listening.” Nope, that’s the bank’s money.

You walk up to an ATM. Nobody’s around. Sitting on top is a bag containing $128,514 in cash. What’s your next move? Umm, don’t give me your Sunday-morning answer. Give me your standing alone at the ATM answer. Maybe when you see it, you say, “Wait, what?!”

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.

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