hypothetical for a novel... when is a crime to keep found money?

[monkey0]

I know it's tradition to make novels howlingly inaccurate when it comes to matters of the law, but I have to ask anyway...

So, in my story there's a car thief who steals a large bag of cash from some meth dealers and gets shot in the process. But he gets away for the time being, and now he's bleeding and he knows he's going to pass out or die soon, so he finds this random old woman, shoves the bag full of cash at her (this is Richmond, CA--leaving it in a bush is not going to fly), and tells her to hold it for him 'till he gets out of the hospital or he'll kill her. He staggers off, she goes home.

He passes out up the street, gets taken to the hospital and arrested and goes to jail. Meanwhile, the old woman goes home, and not long thereafter, has a heart attack and dies.

(yes, yes, this sounds like a horribly lame soap opera. but it's all in the execution, right? this old woman likes to take aerosol cans and zippo lighters to kids who sneak around outside her apartment.)

ANYWAY, now the old woman is dead, has no family, so that means the city gets her stuff, right? They sell it at an estate sale, her apartment gets rented to someone else, and then... the someone else finds the bag of money hidden in an air vent.

now, finally, the question:
if she takes the cash, knowing it probably belonged to the old woman, does she commit a crime? if so, how severe of one? if not, where can I find an apartment like this?

[APDSarge]

Laws on "found property" probably vary from state to state.

In Florida found property is supposed to be turned in to the local police department, who will then hold it for 90 days. After the end of the 90 days, if no owner has come forward and proper notice has been given (through newspapers is accepted) then it can be claimed by the person that found it, kept by the police department, or sold at auction by the dept.

In your scenario there is no proof of the original owner of the money, it is only assumed to have belonged to the old lady.

Actually had a guy in a hotel next to the Miami airport call to say he found a "bag of money" in the ceiling. I was assigned the call and ended up counting 3 million Italian Lira. (At the exchange rate at the time approx $150,000 US). I impounded the money and 91 days later the guy was at the police station with his attorney and a big smile. My dept had to give him the money.

[monkey0]

thanks for the quick reply. I definitely came to the right place.

I google-searched for the California law, and it seems like it's the same as Florida. ("but I know it's legal, officer! I read it on the internet!")

a follow-up, if you don't mind:

what if it -isn't- reported? for instance, what if your lucky Lira finder wasn't so smart/honest; what if he decided to take it home with him, took it to the airport, and his baggage was searched they found... damn, how many lira was that? like two hundred fifty million? and he was all, "um, I found it."

is this a "tsk, tsk" kind of scenario? or is it a bigger deal that that?

[DeltaV]

Maybe one of our CBP officers could better answer this, but I would say that if someone was at a point of entry/exit into the country and a large amount of cash like that was found in their bag, it could be seized. The obvious issue here is that such large amounts of money are usually the proceeds of some sort of illegal activity, such as smuggling drugs. Simply saying "uhh, I found it," probably isn't going to fly.

[fatboyjim154]

Theft by Finding over here. If you hand it in at a Police Station and no one claims or reports it within 28 days you get to keep it. If it isn't a ridiculously large amount. It it is big the Govt get it.

[APDSarge]

thanks for the quick reply. I definitely came to the right place.

I google-searched for the California law, and it seems like it's the same as Florida. ("but I know it's legal, officer! I read it on the internet!")

a follow-up, if you don't mind:

what if it -isn't- reported? for instance, what if your lucky Lira finder wasn't so smart/honest; what if he decided to take it home with him, took it to the airport, and his baggage was searched they found... damn, how many lira was that? like two hundred fifty million? and he was all, "um, I found it."

is this a "tsk, tsk" kind of scenario? or is it a bigger deal that that?

Yes - it is actually a crime to NOT report found property. Imagine trying to explain having that much money on you. If stopped by law enforcement at an airport with that much money guarantee Customs would be speaking with you. And if stopped by police later that day and was asked to explain that much money and he said "I found it" - they would still impound it, and he would have a tougher time trying to claim it after 90 days.

[monkey0]

thanks, all of you.

[phantasm]

It's a crime to find over $10 USC in NYC and not report it as found property.