Tracking down the original owner and returning cash found in a public place is usually “considered the right thing to do.” But when TikToker Leasa, known as @comradekeene, found $500 in the parking lot of a Costco and decided to return it, not everyone was supportive. In a now-viral video, Leasa shared, “I just found $500 in the Costco parking lot and returned it to the bank.” She explained how she told the bank teller, “Hey, I just found this in the parking lot. I’m pretty sure someone dropped it.”
As soon as she handed over the money, “another woman came running into the bank and claimed that it was hers.” Leasa said in the video, “It was her money, and I’m so glad that it was me who found it.”
While Leasa believed she had “done the right thing,” many commenters were quick to criticize her decision. One person wrote, “You don’t ever return cash. Always keep the cash you find. How do you know it was the old lady’s?” Another skeptic remarked, “Costco parking lot and returned to the bank??? Was there a bank in the Costco parking lot? Why wouldn’t you have returned it to Costco? I’m not believing this. Sorry.”
Despite the criticism, some users praised her honesty. One comment read, “I just know you will be rewarded for that somehow!!! you are such a good person.” Leasa even responded humorously, saying, “I had a wonderful conversation over my favorite lunch of a hot dog and soda!”
This story is part of a broader conversation around honesty and integrity when finding lost money. Reddit user u/whiskeyfordinner shared a similar experience from 2001, when he found a wallet containing $2,000. As he approached his car, he heard a man “frantically ask his wife” about a missing wallet. The Redditor returned it after confirming the description. The relieved man offered $100 in thanks, saying, “I don’t care about the damn money; this has my paperwork for a Porsche I bought.”
Costco customer tries to return a TV bought in 2002— all because it ‘falls within the guidelines’