A teenager was applauded for his honesty after returning over $130,000 he found lying in a bag on the ground to its rightful owner.
The incident occurred in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where 19-year-old José Nuñez Romaniz came across a bag full of money when he attempted to withdraw money at the Wells Fargo ATM.
Surprised by his finding, the boy decided to call the bank’s emergency number and inform them about the money that was resting on their ATM.
According to the reports, it was later found that the money had been left at the ATM by a subcontractor, who was in charge of filling up the ATM with the notes, by mistake.
After the money was back in its rightful hands, the teen was rewarded with $500 in cash and $500 towards his tuition. He was also given season tickets for football matches.
Once the Albuquerque Police Department discovered that the young man is pursuing a career in criminal justice, they also decided to reward the 19-year-old by showing him around their crime lab.
Speaking about his thoughts upon seeing the large amount of money in an interview with CNN, José said: “I didn’t know what to do. I was, like, dreaming. I was just in shock. I was looking at myself and just thinking, ‘What should I do?’”
He also opened up about the reasoning behind returning the forgotten money in an interview with KQRE and told them he knows he “did the right thing.”
“In the back of my head, I was just thinking about my parents, especially my mom. What she would do if I came home with the money and what she would do with her chancla [slipper] to hit me. I did the right thing and I know my parents are proud and my family is proud as well,” José told KQRE.
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Replaced!