Lose A Suitcase Full Of Cash? Someone On Craigslist Wants To Return It

UPDATE: Not so shockingly, it was all a hoax. The Village Voice spoke with Clarence Chance, a former marine behind the posting and he now claims it was all a "social experiment."

"I cannot tell a lie," he told the Voice. "There is no actual suitcase of money."

******

Original Story:

What would you do if you found a suitcase full of cash? $78,383 dollars, to be exact?

Well one New Yorker is trying to do the right thing. Kind of.

In an anonymous posting on Craigslist, a man claims to have found the suitcase somewhere on the Lower East Side and will return it to anyone who can "describe the other items inside."

If no one claims it he will take it to the police and hope that no one puts in a claim there. Then according to his logic, he'll be able to keep the cash with clear conscience.

Why is this guy going through all this trouble instead of just keeping the cash outright? Simple: "It is the right thing to do."

CHECK OUT THE LISTING BELOW:

(h/t Runnin' Scared)

Comments

[TomJoad1965]

04:49 PM on 03/30/2010

I wonder if we passed?

[deepfreezevideo]

04:43 PM on 03/30/2010

$78,383.00 doesn't sound like a drug stash or a ransom....a weird figure like that sounds like someone's life savings, otherwise it would be rounded off to eighty grand or seventy-five.

[LegalCodex]

04:59 PM on 03/30/2010

Unless the guy treated his girlfriend out to a $1,627 meal at some swanky restaurant :D

[LegalCodex]

04:59 PM on 03/30/2010

erm.. should be $1617

[James Ballard]

05:32 PM on 03/30/2010

...and .37 cents...

[Jay Morgan]

04:39 PM on 03/30/2010

The bottom line is the last comment he made; the last sentence of this article: "It was the right thing to do." Bravo!!!

[Thumbody]

04:29 PM on 03/30/2010

Hey Buddy, thanks a lot this is Mel as in Passion of the Christ, had a late night last month on the lower east side. What you found is my ex-wifes alimony for february, also in the suitcase is a dead fish (still pissed off about this) and some signed lethal weapon posters for some kid down under. Have your people call my people.

[WisDem2008]

04:22 PM on 03/30/2010

How my suitcase got to NY I'll never know, but please return ASAP.

[bksrmgk]

04:12 PM on 03/30/2010

A suitcase full of cash doesn't speak of anything legal to me. He could be putting his life at risk. I would turn it into the police immediately and let them place this add--unless it's the police who have placed the posting.

[LegalCodex]

04:33 PM on 03/30/2010

"A suitcase full of cash doesn't speak of anything legal to me."

Really? I know plenty of people who prefer to use cash in transactions as opposed to credit simply because they are against the usurious nature of our credit system; however, I do agree there is a serious risk to keeping suitcases of money that you find, especially in areas where organized crime is prevalent.

[LegalCodex]

04:40 PM on 03/30/2010

As a possible example of the money actually being legal: a lot of jewelers I know frequently deal in that level of paper money; however, most I know wouldn't lose that much cash.

[James Ballard]

05:30 PM on 03/30/2010

4:30 PM CST

...Well I'm just curious how many Homeland Security or NSA agents it will take to cover all the morons who'll weigh in to claim ownership !!

J.B.

[earlyblue]

04:00 PM on 03/30/2010

Good man!

[NoElephants]

04:23 PM on 03/30/2010

More like "Idiot" - there are almost ZERO possibilities for this suitcase stuffed with cash to exist without something illicit being involved - he should have kept it.

[LegalCodex]

04:34 PM on 03/30/2010

I know plenty of people that carry large sums of cash around with them because they disagree with the usurious nature of our banking system. While the odds are that this is something illicit, there are lots of people, with no involvement in criminal enterprises, who simply distrust banks and like to keep their money in paper form.

[Rand]

03:59 PM on 03/30/2010

I THOUGHT I lost $78, 383 but, as it turned out, it had just fallen behind the sofa cushion

[amazinggrace]

04:04 PM on 03/30/2010

LoL. Deep pockets on that sofa of yours:-)

[Rand]

04:14 PM on 03/30/2010

It's all in knowing where to look

Just last week someone asked me if I'd found Jesus, so I suggested he look behind the fridge. I find all sorts of stuff back there

I'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip the wait-staff

[ComonSenseMan]

03:50 PM on 03/30/2010

Yeah ... That's my money! I recognize it!

[TheGripester]

03:33 PM on 03/30/2010

Hey there, people who want him to keep it. What if it is ransom money that some poor parent scraped together to pay off the kidnappers of their child, sick with worry and afraid to go to the police? What would you suggest then?

"I do not want what I have not got." What if we all had dignity and honesty? Then we wouldn't need a pile of cash that didn't belong to us. Bernie Madoff, are you listening?

[thaggas]

03:30 PM on 03/30/2010

Shoot. I lost $73,209 on the Upper West Side. Oh, well.

[textynn]

03:28 PM on 03/30/2010

This man should know that this money is more than likely connected to a crime, probably a bad one. He should involve the police immediately.

[eds123]

03:40 PM on 03/30/2010

Maybe there was something in the case that could uniquely identify the owner.

[LegalCodex]

04:41 PM on 03/30/2010

perhaps a gun and some fake identification?

[Moderatenation]

03:11 PM on 03/30/2010

"No Country for Old Men"

[Loffee]

03:40 PM on 03/30/2010

No money for dum @ss

[krayonc]

03:08 PM on 03/30/2010

I've seen this movie before. (SPOILER ALERT) A mysterious man answer the craig's list ad and they arrange to meet in the desert where they realize that they're in over their heads & spend the next hour & a half on the run from a crazy dude with a tank of compressed air.

[johnqsittinzen]

04:17 PM on 03/30/2010

see also "Shallow Grave".

No, seriously, see that one also, great movie.

[krayonc]

05:01 PM on 03/30/2010

lol....yes, you're very right! I think that was the first time I became aware of Ewan McGregor. I enjoyed it as well & (for some reason) I remember liking the background /set / flat.....whatever.

Now I have to watch it again to remember why I liked the set so much.

[yappnmutt]

03:07 PM on 03/30/2010

he picked up somebody's drop.

i wish i could be as naive as this guy. he is a real pure heart. bless him.

[eds123]

03:31 PM on 03/30/2010

Or he is a cop.