Roommates find $41K in old stinky couch, returns cash to owner

What would you do if you accidentally come across a large sum of cash? This is what New York roommates Reeses Werkhoven, Cally Guasti and Lara Russo who found $41,000 (RM 132,436.51) stashed in an old couch which they purchased from the Salvation Army in New Paltz, New York did. They returned it to its rightful owner, a 91-year-old widow who gave the couch away, reported CBS New York. In April, after watching a movie, the trio said they felt crinkles in two side pillows built into their couch. Upon investigating the couch, they found several envelopes filled with dollar bills. “It had these bubble wrap envelopes, just like two or three of them. We ripped them out and was just like freaking out, like an inch and a half of hundred dollar bills,” Werkhoven said. And it wasn’t just a little bit of money. So they eagerly counted it, taking pictures along the way. The money totalled $41,000 (RM 132,436.51). “You keep counting more and more money and you get excited, like Reese was thinking about buying a car for his mom and a boat,” added Russo to CBS New York. The excitement was however short lived when one of the envelope had a woman's name on it. “The entitlement very quickly went away with finding that notice with her name on it. Because we didn’t earn that money,” Guasti said. With the help of Werkhoven’s mother, the group was able to track the woman the money belonged to. They called her and returned the cash. “I’m like ‘I found something that I think is yours’ and she’s like ‘what?!’ and I’m like ‘I found a couch’ and then she’s like ‘oh my God I left a lot of money in that couch,’” said Werkhoven. The friends said the elderly woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, told them she had stashed the money in the couch for years and that family members who didn’t know had mistakenly donated the couch. “This was her life savings and she actually said something really beautiful like ‘this is my husband looking down on me and this was supposed to happen,” Guasti said. “I think it’s just that anyone can do well if they will themselves to it,” Werkhoven said. “I think it went the way it should and to be honest I don’t think about it that much,” Russo said. The trio said they don’t regret doing the right thing. In fact, they hope to have dinner with the family they returned the money to. As a reward, the elderly woman gave the roommates a thousand dollars.