What if I found some money, is it mine to keep?

What if I found some money, is it mine to keep?

The KRock Syracuse radio team had some questions for me this morning about the recent story of the $7.5M found in a storage shed. 

First of all, when you find THAT kind of money, it’s pretty suspicious and more than likely we’re talking tax issues, where did the money come from, and it’s not likely that it was come by through legal means. People don’t put that kind of money in a storage shed unless there’s something going on. The person who purchased the storage unit for $500 was smart to accept the reward of $1.2M to return the bag of money – because who knows who else would have come looking for it!

But what if you find a bag of money on the street, or in the walls of a house you buy for example? If you buy a house and let’s say there’s a piece of jewelry worth $10,000. It’s not yours to keep just because you bought the house. If the person who sold you the house says, look it’s my grandmother’s ring and I didn’t intend to leave it there… the law and any court is going to fall on the side of the seller and rightful owner of that piece of jewelry.

The law is usually fair and reasonable and it’s simply not going to recognize you as the rightful owner of that jewelry. If you found money on the street, and no one makes claim to it or can prove it’s theirs, then yes, it’s your money to keep.

Joe Stanley of The Team at Stanley Law is asked many questions on radio

Joe Knows at Stanley Law
Joe Stanley of Stanley Law has offices in Syracuse, Rochester, Watertown, Binghamton, and Montrose, PA.

and television stations throughout the region. Media come to Joe to get answers on day to day questions that pop up in people’s lives. Although Joe and his team focus on personal injury law at his firm, Stanley Law, Joe always believes in advocating and educating the public to give you sound advice and help you be your own best advocate.

If you or someone you know is seriously injured, don’t go it alone, phone. 1-800-608-3333 or you can email

Joe directly at Joe@StanleyLawOffices.com.