Connecticut Man 'Finds' $5,000 Cash in Bag in the Bank Parking Lot and Keeps it. He Gets in Trouble Three Months Later

A man from Trumbull, Connecticut comes across nearly $5,000 in a bag lying in a parking lot and decides to keep it. Three months later he is charged with a crime for keeping it and not turning it in to the bank or authorities, maintaining he did nothing wrong.

by White Field Photo on Unsplash

Connecticut Man Finds Cash with Documents in a Bag & Keeps it

WMC Action News 5 reported that 56-year-old Robert Withington found a bag filled with nearly $5,000 in cash around 9:30 a.m. on 30 May 2023, and kept it thinking that he had incredibly good luck on that day.

Trumbull Police say the bag containing the cash was "clearly marked with the bank's insignia" and found outside of the bank branch on Quality Street. The cash belonged to the Trumbull Tax Collector's office, which was also inside the bag of cash.

Hearst Connecticut Media reported that Robert Withington maintains his innocence and continues to say he "didn't steal the money."

He said:

"I walked out onto the parking lot, saw something on the ground and there was no one around so I picked it up," he said. "It’s not like I stole something. It’s not like this was planned out. Everything was in the moment and it was like I hit the lottery. That was it.” -Robert Withington, Trumbull resident

Trumbull City Employee Reported the Missing Money

WMC Action News 5 reported the Trumbull City employee from the tax collector's office reported the missing bag of cash on 30 May 2023.

A full investigation began and detectives "obtained search warrants, reviewed multiple surveillance videos from local businesses, and conducted numerous interviews before learning the bag had been inadvertently dropped on the ground outside of the bank [where] Withington had picked it up."

Three months after Withington picked up the bag of cash, he has been charged with third-degree larceny. He willingly turned himself in on 25 August 2023 and awaits a court date on Tuesday, 5 September 2023.

Robert Withington points out that he has no history of crime in Trumbull, CT.

He said:

“I have never had a criminal record in my whole life. This is like a crock of baloney. I found money and now it’s probably going to cost me money.” -Robert Withington, Trumbull resident

He continued:

“I just took the cash and called it a day. I don’t even know whose it was because I didn’t look. All I saw was cash,” he said. “If I knew I was wrong in the first place, I would have given it right back. I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong.” -Robert Withington, Trumbull resident

Thoughts

Here are some questions for the reader:

• Do you think Robert Withington has a right to keep the money he found without penalty?
• Should he be allowed to pay the money back without being charged with a crime?
• Would you have kept the money or turned it in?

(Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments)

Please like and share this article on social media so others can be informed about this story.

Sources

Action 5 News profile page on Facebook.

An Evening of Reflection. "A Connecticut Man Found $5,000 In A Bag, 3 Months Later He Was Arrested For Not Turning It In." An Evening of Reflection - News Commentary Podcast. 30 August 2023.

The Associated Press. "Man arrested months after finding a bag full of $5,000 in cash in a parking lot." WMC Action News 5. 30 August 2023.

Holmes-Brown, Shaniece. "Trumbull man charged after finding $5K outside bank says he ‘just took the cash and called it a day’." Hearst Connecticut Media. 28 August 2023.

Tesla Bought $1.5 Billion Bitcoin: What Does this Mean for Investors?

 

Tesla bought $1.5 billion Bitcoin

Elon Musk is a man that speaks his mind on Twitter often, and when the internet is not reading your tweets, it is watching everyday people do crazy things on TikTok. So when the richest man in the world tweets about Bitcoin and Dogecoin, oftentimes, the price of these cryptocurrencies then see a noticeable jump as a direct result of his comments he posts on Twitter.

Elon Musk even went “all in” adding the hashtag #bitcoin to his Twitter biography, and CNBC’s Steve Kovach notes that this move resulted in the jump of bitcoin by 20%. Not only that, Elon Musk then said on the social media site Clubhouse: “I do at this point think bitcoin is a good thing, and I am a supporter of bitcoin.”

Elon Musk Quote:

“I do at this point think bitcoin is a good thing, and I am a supporter of bitcoin.” Elon Musk said on social media, Clubhouse (December 2020)

Tesla Buying $1.5 Billion Bitcoin is a GameChanger for Crypto

So what happens with a white-hot company like Tesla makes a major investment into bitcoin?

The internet explodes. Figuratively, of course, and the price of bitcoin soars to a new all-time high of $44,200.00 USD (for one bitcoin) in February 2021.

This significant event happened on Monday, February 08, 2021 and was very significant for bitcoin. Tesla announced in an SEC filing that it had purchased $1.5 billion in bitcoin, and it would also begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for their products “subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis.” In other words, it is a short-term gimmick to keep Tesla riding a wave of relevancy. But I do give them much credit, because Tesla spends $0 on a marketing budget, yet stays in the news almost every single day.

Investor Michael Burry is not buying the smoke and mirrors. He claims that Tesla buying $1.5 billion into bitcoin is just a distraction so that consumers don’t pay attention to recent regulatory issues Tesla is facing in China stemming from quality issues found in the electric cars (Business Insider India).

It is very possible that Tesla is trying to distract the general public from legitimate issues, but let’s continue with the ruse for a minute.

How much of their cash did Tesla invest into bitcoin?

Steve Kovach of CNBC points out that Tesla had more than $19 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of 2020, according to public records. Now that Tesla has officially made a significant investment into Bitcoin, the term “double bubble” has come to fruition. (Editor’s Note: I did not come up with this term, but I like it.)

Michael Burry Quote:

“Chinese regulators summon Tesla on quality issues as consumers complain about quality…but $TSLA bought $BTC….In my mind’s eye, so much #digital confetti.” -Michael Burry in since-deleted tweets originally posted on Monday, February 08, 2021

Tesla is Primed to be a Double Bubble for Investors

Double bubble

Why a double bubble?

Because many analysts have long believed that Tesla is significantly overvalued for many reasons, and the exorbitant stock price does not accurately reflect its true value. Not only does the price of Tesla stock continue to increase, but it also recently split five-for-one in August 2020, and continues to increase in price since the split.

Think back to the days of the video arcade, when you would take your dollars or quarters to the coin machine and would feed your real money to this mechanical beast that would give you tokens, with a real-world value of less than $0.01. That’s a pretty good investment, right? Let’s trade real currency with real value for a fake currency with no value, but in order to play video games, this is the cost of fun.

In a less tangible way, there are no real coins with bitcoin. It’s not real, people! It’s more of an investment vehicle, or some may even think of it as a bank account that is subject to the risk of the masses.

Bitcoin is only worth what everyone collectively thinks it's worth. So, just like the stock market, you could find yourself buying in when it is high (i.e. right now), or you could have been one of those lucky early adopters that believed in that “new-fangled” cryptocurrency many years ago. And despite it being around for most of the past decade, it still (i.e. today) has that new car smell. A Tesla smell, actually. Pun intended.

Question: So what’s up with Tesla? Is it still operating on unicorn tears?

Answer: Pretty much…and some credits, too.

In addition to the confusion behind Tesla’s inflated stock price, a perfect happening of events in 2019–2020 made it possible for Tesla to meet the qualifications to join the S&P 500, due to their reporting four consecutive quarters of GAAP profitability. Many skeptics say this was only made possible due to zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) credits and other environmental credits given to Tesla. It is public knowledge that Tesla sold approximately $594 million in regulatory environmental credits in 2019 and $419 million in 2018.

What’s even more baffling is that people are willing to pay a premium price for an “average” electric car (i.e. Tesla’s current vehicles). I do get that this is a movement. I get it. We are now seeing the car industry shift from gasoline combustion vehicles to more automakers making big moves into electric vehicles.

In the age of the now-famous “stock advising” WallStreetBets forum on Reddit, and the phenomenon of Robinhood investing, just about everyone has access to buy into companies like Tesla. And now when you buy Tesla, you are also buying into bitcoin, whether you like this idea or not. So, if you want to ride the double bubble, this choice is now entirely up to you.

Do you believe that Elon Musk is a visionary and is worth investing in?

Do you think that Elon Musk should be investing Tesla cash into Bitcoin?

Elon Musk Quotes of Caution about Cryptocurrency:

“People should not invest their life savings in cryptocurrency, to be clear -- that's unwise."

"There's a good chance that crypto is the future currency of Earth, and it's like which one's it going to be? Maybe it'll be multiple. It should be considered speculation at this point. So don't go too far with the crypto speculation front."

Investor Takeaway:

Everyday retail investors should be cautious before making any investment and should do their due diligence and research before buying cryptocurrencies or securities. Speak with a trusted financial advisor before investing your money into any stock. A good financial advisor will not advise you to put all of your investment money into one stock. 

Sources:

Chakravarti, Ankita. "Bitcoin less dumb form of liquidity than cash, says Tesla CEO Elon Musk." IndiaToday. 

Kolodny, Lora. “Tesla’s sale of environmental credits help drive to profitability.” CNBC.

Kovach, Steve. “Tesla buys $1.5 billion in bitcoin, plans to accept it as payment.” CNBC.

Maidenberg, Micah. “On Twitter, Elon Musk Has Mused About Bitcoin.” The Wall Street Journal.

Mohamed, Theron. “‘Big Short’ investor Michael Burry calls Tesla’s billion bet on Bitcoin a distraction — and says Dogecoin’s record price signals a massive bubble.” Business Insider India.

Black Swan Capital LLC is Profiting from Winning the Lottery

 

There is a secretive company in the United States that is profiting off of the Lottery. The Indy Star first reported this group on 11 November 2020. To date, Black Swan Capital LLC has won at least $6.3 Million USD cash, and has claimed at least 66 winning lottery tickets, in a multi-state lottery scheme to win. Black Swan Capital LLC is registered in Delaware as an "open-end investment fund," formed on June 27, 2019.

Who is the Leader of Black Swan Capital LLC?

The leader of Black Swan Capital LLC is Manuel Montori, and there are at least three other Princeton alumni involved: Matthew Gibbons, Hannah Davinroy, and Zoe Buonaiuto. 

How much did Manuel Montori win playing the lottery?

In Indiana, Manuel Montori has won 58 times the $1,000 cash prize from $30 lottery tickets in the $7,000,000 MEGA CASH lottery. He also won 3 tickets for $10,000.00 USD cash in this same lottery. He has won $88,000.00 USD doing this.

In Missouri, Manuel Montori won $5 Million USD from a scratch-off lottery on Oct. 6. He has won a total of $121,000 USD from the Missouri lottery, and was collected by Hannah Davinroy.

In Washington D.C., Manual Montori won $100,000.00 USD from the D.C. lottery.

Statistical Advantage to win the Lottery Cash Prize

The Indy Star suggests that the Black Swan Group LLC is using statistics to win at these lotteries, using publicly available information, available on the lottery websites. The scheme involves members of the group buying lottery tickets in mass, often buying up all of the tickets at once, from various locations. Black Swan Capital LLC then enjoys all of the cash rewards from this scheme.

Victoria's Secret: Woman Attempts to Smuggle $40,000 Cash Abroad in her Underwear

Bra and Girdle with $40,000 cash

A 78 year-old woman from Florida was recently caught trying to smuggle cash abroad in her bra and girdle. She was caught at the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport on its way to the Philippines. Her name is Victoria Faren, and she lost $40,000 in cash to customs because she was caught trying to smuggle her money through customs.

Why was this an issue?

This was an issue because all commercial airline passengers must declare the amount of money they are taking abroad, and the maximum amount is limited to $10,000 USD. The total amount of cash that Victoria Faren tried to smuggle on board was $40,000 USD. She only declared having $200 USD on her, which was $38,800 short of the real amount concealed on her.

Victoria's Secret was Hidden Cash in her Girdle

Victoria had a secret. She had $8,000 in her carry-on luggage, $3,000 inside her blouse, with $2,000 of that cash was sewn into her bra strap. Customs agents then noticed that there were bulges in her girdle. They patted her down, and found $21,000 USD stuffed inside her girdle.

The Source of Her Money

Victoria Faren recently sold her house for $120,000 USD, and wanted to bring $40,000 of that to the Phillipinnes, because she believed that it would be "safer" there. She hid the money on herself because she knew that it was illegal to smuggle that much money out of the country.

Victoria Faren was ultimately not charged with a crime. She has to go before a judge in order to persuade the judge that she should be able to get her $40,000 cash that was confiscated by customs.

Image credit: Flickr CC; by Minnesota Historical Society

Steven Fields uses Cash from Inheritance Scam to Dispute Bank Error

Bank withdrawal of cash (source: Morguefile)

If a bank puts money into your account by accident or error, it is still not yours.

Bank Error in Your Favor, Collect $31,000

Steven Fields of Hull, Georgia, has learned this the hard way. On March 7, 2014, the First Citizens Bank made a bank error, and put $31,000.00 into his bank account on accident. It was supposed to go into the other Steven Field account - same name, different customer.

Cash from Inheritance Scam

Steven Fields, the 18 year old customer, learned that he had become $31,000.00 richer, so he decided to spend his extra cash. He spent $5,000 on his debit card, and pulled out $20,000 in cash in a matter of 10 days. The bank asked Steven Fields to return the money, but he claims that the money was a direct deposit for his inheritance from his grandmother's estate, and that he didn't owe any cash back to the bank. He said they were mistaken, this was his money, and there was no bank error.

Steven Fields said he would provide proof that the money was really his inheritance. To date, Steven Fields has not provided this evidence, nor has he returned any of the $31,000 in cash.

Gawker.com has made Steven Fields "Hero of the Year." For what - stealing money, that wasn't his?

It is Illegal to Keep Cash Put into Your Bank Account by Accident

Steven Fields has no case if he knew that this money was not his. However, if he pleaded ignorant, he may get off without going to jail. If money is delivered to you by accident, it is still not yours.

To keep $100,000 would be an automatic felony in most states. According to this Mainstreet.com article, the state of Georgia could charge Steven Fields with a felony.

It certainly does not help his case that he took the money out and then lied about where he got it from. This was not cash from his grandmother's inheritance.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Phishing Scam

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

This Phishing Scam Email originates from Malaysia

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).
Route 1 and College Road East,
Princeton, USA.

Dear Recipient,

Confirm Receipt of this mail with Ref. No: RWJF0/024/991146612.
This is an official notification to you by the board of trustees of
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as one of the recipients of cash
Grant Award for your personal business and community development. The
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is conceived with the objective of
humanitarian growth, community development and health improvement. To
celebrate the 41st anniversary program, The Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation is giving out a cash donation of $1,800,000.00 (One Million
and Eight Hundred Thousand US Dollars) each to 8 lucky recipients and
you are one of the lucky recipient.

This specific Grants are awarded to 8 lucky international recipients
worldwide. At least 60% of the awarded Grant funds should be used by
you (the Recipient) to develop a part of your community. This is a
yearly program, which is a measure of Universal Development Strategy
Program (UDSP). The objective of this program is to make a notable
change in the standard of living of the people all around the world.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has been assured of the highest
organizational standard courtesy of the United Nations. Who says "It
is our belief that we can achieve a great positive change in the
general welfare of the universe through this program". That is why The
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is doing everything possible to get all
recipients notified of their cash donation via email and Telephone.


Based on the random selection exercise of internet websites and
millions of supermarket cash invoices worldwide, our collaborators,
you were selected among the lucky recipients to receive the awarded
sum of $1,800,000.00 (One Million and Eight Hundred Thousand US
Dollars) as Grant Award from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
(Note; all beneficiaries email addresses were selected randomly from
over 900,000 internet websites and shop's cash invoice around your
area in which you might have purchased an item(s).
Quickly confirm receipt of this mail.

Name:
Sex:
Address:
Occupation:
Tel:
Email:
Nationality.
Age:
Ref. No: RWJF0/024/991146612.

NOTE: All Notification email with your interest should be sent to:
Name: Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey
Email: RobertWoodJohnsonFoundation111@hotmail.com

Sincerely Yours,
Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

----------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER:
This e-mail and the attachment is from State Government of Pahang,  
Malaysia. It is intended solely for the person to whom they are  
addressed and may be confidential and privileged. If you are not the  
intended recipient, you are notified that disclosing, distributing,  
copying or taking any action in reliance of the content of this  
information is strictly prohibited. Please notify the sender  
immediately if you have received this e-mail and delete it from your  
system. The recipient should check the e-mail and any attachment for  
the presence of viruses that could be transmitted via e-mail. Email  
transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error free as  
information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed,  
incomplete or contain viruses. State Government of Pahang, Malaysia  
accepts no liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of  
this message which arises as a result of e-mail transmission.  
Opinions, conclusions and other information in this e-mail that does  
not relate to the official business of State Government of Pahang,  
Malaysia shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by State  
Government of Pahang, Malaysia.


-- 
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.

Editor's note: When did Malaysia get so much cash?

Image credit: Flickr Creative Commons; by UMDNJ School of Nursing

David Moore Phishing Scam Email

David Moore

UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA NIGERIA

HEAD OFFICE ADDRESS UBA HOUSE

57 MARINA P.O. BOX 2406 LAGOS NIGERIA

PHONE: +234 814 0668 110

FAX: 234 674 4782 910

WEBSITE: WWW.UBAGROUP.COM

 

Hello,

 

Am David Moore, director cash processing unit, united bank for Africa [UBA the only bank appointed by the O.AU. Members lead by President John Kuffor.

 

Because of the frauds going on in West Africa countries where some innocent beneficiaries were asked to pay in advance before receiving their money owed to them.

 

The above Africa union held meeting in Nigeria and resolve to pay all beneficiaries in cash through means of diplomatic courier service. We receive your files from international monetary fund (I.M.F.) as one of the cash beneficiaries.

 

Take note;ten thousand united state dollars (us$10,000)have been mapped out for all expenses in taxes and other doccumets that matters.

 

Therefore, I want you to bear it in mind that your total fund will be no more ten million five hundred thousand united state dollars ($10,500,000.00) but Ten million four hundred and ninety thousand united state dollars ($10,490,000.00).

 

If anybody tells you that he is paying you in bank draft or telegraphic money transfer both western union and money gram, do not listen to him or her because due to this frauds no international bank honors our remittance instruction any more that is why we settled to pay in cash through courier.

 

We also received a security report that you paid the fraudsters who have been deceiving you, telling you that they are going to send this money to you.

 

Dear as a senior banker, controlling this cash payment now, I advise you not to waste your money by paying any body in advance again, and if you just follow my instruction, you will receive your money in three days time.

 

Your fund will now be packaged in box and take to the diplomatic courier service for immediate shipment, I will also send the picture of the box by attachment to you to see how the money is packed, and I will send you more mails to give you more information for you to know the genuineness of this transaction.

 

Therefore, do forward your home address and direct phone number to this E-Mail mrdavid_morisse@yahoo.com

 

All the documents will be sent to you if I am assured that you have stopped sending money to those fraudsters.

 

Am waiting to hear from you with the required information of yours.

 

David Moore

Director cash processing unit

united bank for Africa. (U.B.A).

Email:mrdavid_morisse@yahoo.com

Phishing Scam Email From Mariam Ture

Mariam Ture

The following email is from Mariam Ture:

My Dear,
Good evening to you

Thanks for your mail and God bless you toward my plight. I receive
your mail with all pleasure and I am very happy for your concern,

If you can read my previous mail very well you will understand that
chosen you is not something I know you before or met you before but I
believe its the will of God that directed me to come across your email
contact on redgage.com and I pick you as my savoir for my future life
and if you accept me and give me this great assistance I needed I
promise you that you will never regret of helping out. Really I
founded many email contacts on redgage.com but my heart goes to you
only.

This is the most reason I contacted you to assist me in this
transaction, I went to the bank to withdraw some money for myself
management the banker Dr Maurice Johnson said I can not have any
access on the money because my late Father deposited this money in
fixed code suspense account which cannot withdraw or input any money
to the account unless it's been transferred to foreign bank account
overseas, that my name only stands as the next of kin to for the bank
deposit file.

That is why I contacted you to stand as my Representative Abroad to
receive this money into your bank account.

I am presently staying at one of the local guest house here in Abidjan
City Ivory Coast in western part of Africa for the safety of my life.
I stop schooling because of what am facing from my families members
because their selfish culture which says that if a man die without a
son that all his properties will share among his family members. I
don't want to talk much about what I have gone through but will
explain to you when we get everything concluded and I find myself in
your country ok.

Here are the areas I needed your help. I will want you to stand as my
trustee as well as my representative abroad so that you will instruct
the bank to transfer this money deposited with the bank here for
investment project this is base on the mode that my late father
deposited the money with the bank here.


I needed your assistance to get a nice University where I can continue
my education and I will want you to help me get a resident permit in
your country when I come over there to stay and to help me buy a good
apartment where I can live.

If you assured me to assist me as I mention above,
Kindly send to me your full name, your place and date of birth, Your
direct telephone numbers your full address to enable me introduce you
to the bank as my representative who is going to receive my inherited
money for investment project in your country.

As soon as I hear from you with your assurance to assist me I will go
to the bank and submit your information and also introduce you to the
bank as my representative abroad who is going to receive my inherited
money for investment project in your country for the immediate
transfer processing on your name as the banker assured me.

I am waiting for your prompt respond and wishing you a very happy day

Yours Faithfully,

Mariam Ture
 
If you receive spam email that is identical to that above, do not give this con artist your information. It is a scam to get access to your money.

Image credit: Flickr Creative Commons; by US Army Africa