We published this story on Yahoo en Español in January 2023. We showed it again to our users because it was one of the most viewed and commented on stories on our site throughout the year.
He went to McDonald's for lunch and was mistakenly given bags containing thousands of dollars. Photo: Getty Images (chameleonseye via Getty Images)
A lucky McDonald's customer was in the middle of eating his McMuffin sausage when he found thousands of dollars in cash in the take-out bag handed to him at the drive-thru.
Josiah Vargas couldn't believe his eyes when he came across several wads of cash grouped in small Ziploc containers that would hold his lunch for the day; So he pulled out his phone to share the find on TikTok.
“Guys, you don't know how much I need this money,” he said in a viral video he posted Monday that has already amassed more than 1.3 million views. “What’s in this bag? Now, your damn deposits,” Vargas showed viewers.
The boy, who did not reveal the location of the McDonald's restaurant, took what was happening with humor and although he assured that these thousands of dollars would be very good for him, he decided to return them to the self-service workers.
“Here it’s a few thousand dollars. What is that? Why should they do this? “Now I have to give that back because I’m a good person, I guess,” Vargas added.
A few minutes later, he returned to the fast food restaurant and discreetly grumbled, “Why would they do this to me?” Do you know how much I want this money?”
But greed didn't win this time. When he entered the restaurant, the staff greeted him with great relief, one of them even asking him for a hug and a photo. “Guys, are you laundering money here or what?” Vargas asked them jokingly.
“Oh dear God!” and thank you!” were the phrases that were heard most often in the video, in which the team on duty that day seemed quite relieved by the generous return.
In a later cut, Vargas said that all the employees hugged him, thanked him and cried when they saw him arrive with the money. “I hope they give me free McDonald's for a month, I guess,” he joked again.
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They rewarded him with $200
Later, he had to edit the video again because the restaurant team asked him to come back to reward his good deed with $200.
Although Vargas did the right thing by returning the money, some viewers admitted that they would not have done the same in his position, especially after the severe blow that the rise in prices, inflation and the general financial situation caused to the pockets of millions of people suffered had triggered a crisis. due to the pandemic.
“No, I was McStaying there,” one user joked in the comments section. Another agreed, writing: “I would literally say 'The universe has blessed me' and get out of there.”
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The Vargas episode wasn't the only one at McDonald's. Photo: Getty Images (Alexander Farnsworth via Getty Images)
One person chimed in, “Yeah, don't give the money back, McDonald's will handle it,” while one commenter even claimed that Vargas most likely saved employees' paychecks.
“Someone was able to keep their job because you did the right thing,” they wrote.
In a follow-up video, Vargas admitted that he then returned to McDonald's, but this time they had no idea who he was. “They took my name and number down and I had to pay for my two McChickens and a Sprite, which is fine. “I’m not too worried about that,” he said.
“Well that's a McScam!” one person replied.
The episode with Vargas was not the only one. In 2013, a Tennessee couple ordering breakfast at their local McDonald's accidentally received a bag full of cash.
Greg and Stacye Terry of Hermitage accidentally received thousands of dollars that were supposed to be deposited in the bank, but somehow ended up at the drive-thru window.
The Terrys left the parking lot and later got home and were surprised to see the bills in their order. The costly mistake was quickly discovered and the couple returned the money without hesitation.
“My husband opened the bag and discovered the money inside,” Stacye told NewsChannel5. “He told me, 'You're not going to believe this.' And actually it was the money that the employees had to deposit into the bank.”
“As soon as he said it was bail, the first thing we did was get in the truck and bring him back,” Stacye said. “There is no other way to have it. “I couldn’t live with myself.”