BEING a good samaritan can often lead to big rewards as one taxi driver found out after discovering a case filled with hundreds of thousands of dollars in his cab.
Adam Woldemarim was driving taxis in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2012 after he had immigrated from Ethiopia seven years prior.
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At the time, the then-42-year-old, made a shocking discovery in the back of his cab, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Around 2 a.m. on September 2, 2012, was cleaning out the cab when he found a black laptop case in between the seats.
Woldemarim told the outlet that he unzipped the case and found a jaw dropping $221,510 inside.
He explained that he called his friend, also from Ethiopia, who had also driven that taxi that same evening.
Read More on Finding Cash
After the friend said the case wasn’t his, Woldemarim decided to bring it to the security office Frias Transportation Management, which owns his cab company Virgin Valley Cab, according to the Daily Mail.
Just one hour after handing over the money, Woldemarim received a call from the office.
He returned to find a young man with a huge grin waiting for him.
The man had supposedly won the money at the hostel and casino Wynn Las Vegas and accidently left it in the cab on his way to the airport.
Woldemarim told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the man then gave him a hefty tip of $2,000 to show his appreciation of the cab driver’s goodwill.
Mark James, the president and CEO of Frias Transportation Management, told ABC News that the company was proud of Woldemarim’s actions.
“It goes without saying how proud we are of Adam as a member of our team at Frias for the way he conducted himself,” James said at the time.
“His actions speak highly of the integrity of all our drivers and our company. It’s everything you hope to see in a good employee.”
Friends previously described Woldemariam as a “very nice guy” as well as “very humble and religious.”
Alex “Baharu” Alebachew, a limo driver, told ABC News that Woldemariam was “down to earth.”
As a cab driver at the time, Woldemarim was working around 12 hours a day and earning roughly $350 a week.
Rules on finding money
The saying “finders, keepers
While state and local laws may differ slightly, the majority will require you to attempt to find the owner of the money.
If you fail to make reasonable efforts to track down the owner, many states can charge you with theft or larceny of lost property.
The penalty will most likely be based on the value of the lost property as larger finds that are kept without making reasonable efforts to find the owner may be classed as a felony rather than a misdemeanor.
The term reasonable efforts includes asking people nearby if they dropped any cash, checking the envelope or wallet (if there is one) for an ID, handing it into a nearby store, or contacting the police on a non-emergency line.
Some laws will authorize the police to return the money to the finder if no one has claimed it after a period of time.
Always check your local and state laws which will most likely outline what to do if you find property or cash.
It is also advised that you contact the police or a criminal defense lawyer who can assist in what the laws state and how you should proceed.
Source: Criminal Defense Lawyer
Alebachew also told the Las Vegas Journal-Review that he believed it would’ve “been nice” if his friend had gotten more money for his good deed.
However, he was grateful the incident showed others that there was more to Woldemarim than being a cab driver.
“It would have been nice if my good friend got more money, but I think the most important thing here is that a lot of people think foreign cabdrivers like us abuse tourists or they long haul their customers or we’re just here causing problems and we don’t belong here,” he reportedly said.
At the time, Woldemariam reportedly publicly said that he was grateful for the $2,000 tip, according to ABC News.
He also reportedly said he would be sending some of the funds to his family in Ethiopia.
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