Rabbi Returns $98,000 Fortune

An honest man in Connecticut did the right thing as he returned a five-figure fortune he found in a desk from Craigslist. INSIDE EDITION has more.

Is this the most honest man in America? He bought a desk for $150 on Craigslist, found a bag containing $98,000 in cash inside the desk, and returned the fortune to its rightful owner!

Rabbi Noah Muroff, a high school teacher from New Haven, Connecticut explained how it happened when he brought the desk home, saying, "It didn't fit through the door by a fraction of an inch, so I took the drawers out and found $98,000 in cash."

So, when this man of faith first set eyes on all that cash, did he allow himself to wonder what would happen if he was a rich man? The answer is, no.

Instead, Muroff immediately phoned the desk's previous owner, and her reaction was stunning.

"Oh my gosh. Thank you so much," she exclaimed.

She told him the money was her inheritance and she'd forgotten where she put it.

Muroff said, "She was just speechless and in shock. She didn't know waht to say."

Watch Rabbi Muroff Talk About Finding The Money Here

On Good Morning America, they all marveled about Muroff's honesty and were puzzled by the carelessness of the desk's previous owner.

GMA's Robin Roberts wondered, "How do you forget that you put $98,000 anywhere?"

INSIDE EDITION asked its viewers, "If you found $98,000 in a desk you bought on Craiglist, would you return the money?"

Fifty seven per cent said "Yes" and fourty three percent said "No."

The final word goes to Patty, the grateful women who got her money back.

She told Muroff, "I cannot thank you enough for your honesty and integrity. I do not think there are too many people in this world that would have done what you did."