Noah Muroff, Conn. Rabbi, Returns $98,000 Found In Desk He Purchased On Craigslist

The desk a Connecticut man bought on Craigslist held an unexpected surprise for the new owner – and a moral imperative.

New Haven rabbi Noah Muroff and his wife discovered nearly $100,000 in cash in the drawers of a desk they purchased for less than $200, reports WTNH. The temporary treasure was discovered when they attempted to fit the desk through a door and had to take it apart. "The desk did not fit into this office by fraction of an inch," Muroff told WTNH. So the couple separated the parts of the desk, including the file cabinets – behind which they found a plastic bag stuffed with money.

"Behind the drawers there is this plastic bag, like a shopping," said Muroff. "In the bag, I could already see through the bag, it looks like a $100 bill. We open it up and it's full of cash. And we counted up and there's $98,000 cash sitting in the bag."

But rather than revel in their newfound riches, Muroff says he and his wife knew “we can’t keep this money.” They called the original owner of the desk, making sure to record the conversation using a cellphone video. It turns out the desk’s first owner had placed her inheritance in the drawers and failed to remember where she had placed it before selling the piece. But lucky for her, she hit the jackpot by selling the desk to an upright couple thoughtful enough to return her misplaced fortune.