Man Who Found $5,000 and Claimed 'Finders-Keepers' Has Larceny Charge Dropped After Giving Cash Back

Robert Withington, 57, said he felt like he'd "hit the lottery" after discovering the bag

A Connecticut man who was charged with larceny for keeping $5,000 that he found in a bag in the parking lot of a bank has returned the money, and the charge has been dropped, the Associated Press reports.

Robert Withington appeared in Bridgeport Superior Court for a hearing on Wednesday where a state prosecutor announced the decision after Withington returned the money, according to the outlet.

Withington, now 57, turned himself in to police in Trumbull, Conn., in August and was charged following a “lengthy police investigation” regarding the incident that took place on May 30, PEOPLE reported at the time.

According to a police statement released in August, an employee of the Town’s Tax Collector Office lost the bag of cash while on his way to make a delivery at the bank.

He realized once he arrived at his destination that the bag was missing, and the police were notified, the statement said.

Related: Man Charged with Larceny Months After He Found $5,000 Outside of Connecticut Bank

Withington found the bag in a parking lot and later said it felt like he'd “hit the lottery,” CT Post reported at the time.  

"I walked out onto the parking lot, saw something on the ground and there was no one around so I picked it up," he said.

Afterwards, Withington reportedly denied that his actions amounted to theft.

"It’s not like I stole something,” he said.

He claimed it was a case of "finders-keepers," the Associated Press reports.

However, the police claim it was clearly marked on the bag that it belonged to the bank and “contained numerous documents that identified the owner of the contents as the Town of Trumbull,” according to the police statement.

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In an earlier interview, Withington told CT Post that when he found the bag, there was an officer nearby on his phone.

“I just looked down, I was like, 'There's something there,'” he told the news outlet. “So I just picked it up under my arm like no biggie and just walked back to my car.”

“Anybody who knows me knows all I’m about is generosity,” he told CT Post in August.

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