A Michigan man who discovered thousands of dollars hidden inside a couch he purchased decided not to sit on the funds and returned the cash to the sofa’s original owner.
Howard Kirby purchased the piece of furniture from Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Owosso, Michigan, in December. After using the couch for a few weeks, he realized that it was uncomfortable, prompting his daughter to open it up and see what was inside.
“I still have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming or something,” Kirby told WNEM. He said that when the ottoman was opened, fistfuls of $100 bills were discovered.
In all, $43,170 was found inside the furniture.
Kirby said an attorney told him that he had the legal right to keep the cash, but something about that didn’t feel right, so he returned to the store and tracked down the couch’s original owner.
“It’s just crazy,” said Kim Fauth-Newberry, who donated the ottoman, previously owned by her grandfather, after he died last year. “It’s completely awesome.”
Rick Merling, the ReStore manager, praised Kirby’s act of returning the money.
“To me, this is someone that, despite what they’re going through and in spite of their own needs, says, ‘I’m just going to do the right thing,’” Merling said.
Kirby said that despite needing a new roof for his home, it made him happy to know the money went to the right person.
“I always thought, ‘What would I do if that ever happened?’ And now I know, and it makes me feel good,” he said.
