Woman Finds $6,000 Cash She Lost Years Ago, But Her Bank Refuses To Accept The ‘Deteriorated’ Money

Mary Venegas was “stunned” when she finally found an envelope containing $6,000 in cash buried under some cardboard boxes in her backyard.

The Sacramento senior thought the money was long gone after losing it four years ago and was “just so happy” to find it, since she lives on a fixed income and had past-due utility bills to pay.

How can someone lose a fortune in cash in their backyard?

“I don’t know… I’m just a 66-year-old woman who’s very forgetful,” Venegas told CBS News Sacramento, explaining that she originally planned to use the money to pay her taxes.

But when she went to deposit the money, Bank of America refused to accept her money because the notes were “deteriorated,” dirty and water-damaged after spending four years outside.

Here’s what happened and what you can do if you’ve damaged or mutilated money.

State exam
Venegas thought her recent financial troubles were solved when she found $6,000 in cash, money that was rightfully hers.

When the bank refused to accept the money—most of which consisted of $100 bills—she discovered that her deposit may have been thoroughly investigated by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), the government agency that prints money (also called Federal Reserve notes) and redeems mutilated notes.

The BEP defines mutilated money as banknotes that “have been damaged to such an extent that only half or less of the original banknote remains, or the condition of which is such that its value is doubtful.”

Banknotes can be mutilated in many ways, including fire, water, chemicals, explosives, animals, insects, rodent damage, and petrification or deterioration from burial. In the case of Venegas, the money was likely damaged by water and the corners were clearly eaten away by an insect or animal.

If you have mutilated currency, you can deliver it in person to the BEP facility in Washington, DC, or you can mail it to the agency with a completed and signed BEP Form 5283. But the exchange process can take six months to three years — a long wait for someone who needs the money now.

“What if I die before I ever receive it?” Venegas remarked.

A partial payout
When Venegas learned how long it might take before she could exchange her money with the government, she contacted Call Kurtis’ consumer investigations team at CBS Sacramento.

Since nearly all of the bills she found were largely intact and the value of each bill ($100) was clear, CBS reached out to Bank of America, where Venegas has banked for decades, to see if they would deposit the money.

The bank states on its website that it “does not distribute or accept mutilated currency of any kind,” but given the condition of Venegas’ money and the interest from investigative reports, it eventually changed its position and accepted $5,700 of the $6,000 loot.

A relieved Venegas said she plans to use the money to pay her past-due utility bills, a debt that has been weighing heavily on her steady retirement income.

As for the remaining $300, Venegas will have to wait and see how long it takes for the rest of her money to be investigated.

Related