A New Mexico man found $135,000 next to an ATM. Instead of walking away with it, he called police.
19-year-old Jose Nuñez Romaniz just needed to deposit money into his bank account to make an online purchase. When he got to the ATM he made an astonishing find — and what he did next has earned him praise and a bit of fame in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
As he pulled his truck alongside the machine, he spotted a clear plastic bag on the ground. It was a “foot-long stack” of $50 and $20 bills.
Nuñez said he never considered keeping the cash — but all sorts of wild thoughts raced through his mind. Was this some kind of trick?
With the bank closed on that Sunday, Nuñez called Albuquerque police. Two officers arrived, and the teenager handed over the money.
The officers counted the cash back at their station: It totaled $135,000.
Albuquerque police discovered the money was mistakenly left outside the ATM by a bank subcontractor that was meant to supply the machine with cash.
Nuñez, a college student who lives at home and helps his parents take care of his two younger siblings, said his family comes from “humble beginnings,” and that no one in his family has ever been around or seen that kind of money.
As he stared at the cash, waiting for police officers to arrive, he said he could hear the lessons of his parents in his head.
“My parents always taught me to work for my own. Stolen money would never last you any time.”