Crime & Safety

New Biz Owner Loses Wallet With $10,000, Good Samaritan Finds It

After losing the wad of cash at Main Beach, the man expressed "shock" that the money was safely returned to him.

If you lost a wallet with $10,000 cash in it, you'd probably never expect to see it again.

That's what happened to a Newport Beach man who stopped off at a bench on Saturday afternoon after making his big withdrawl. He got some coffee, made some phone calls, and was apparently distracted enough to leave his bulging wallet behind.

But not long after, an unknown Good Samaritan found the wallet. Instead of running off to Vegas, he did the right thing and turned the wallet in to a lifeguard, who called the Laguna Beach Police Department. An officer came out and began trying to reunite the wallet with the rightful owner.

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A Florida driver's license was inside. LBPD officer Matt Meadows did some computer detective work from the license info, the $10,000 man was quickly contacted, and his wallet was returned. A release from the LBPD reported that the owner was "shocked" to find the cash still inside, and that he wanted to thank the anonymous soul who turned it in.

So what was he doing with $10,000 in the first place? Apparently it was to pay a contractor for renovation work on a new Laguna Beach restaurant the man is opening soon.

Find out what's happening in Laguna Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Needless to say, he doesn't want his name revealed so people don't think he goes around carrying big fat bills around with him all the time. Maybe he should think about shopping around for a chain wallet ...

 


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