Can You Just Keep The Cash If You Stumble Upon A Cache?
Can You Just Keep The Cash If You Stumble Upon A Cache?
Danielle Antosz Mon, November 17, 2025 Moneywise
Ohio man bought $1K house, then found $10K in the basement
In a world where stories about hidden cash often end in legal headaches or ethical questions, one Ohio man showed how doing the right thing can turn a surprise find into something more meaningful.
Walter Castanedo of Toledo bought a rundown home in early 2024 with plans to renovate it. The three-bedroom, one-bath house cost him only $1,000. While clearing out the basement, he uncovered something he never expected: old envelopes stuffed with $100 bills. In total, he found about $10,000 hidden between paving stones.
"I just kind of felt like 'Whoa'," Castanedo told WTOL 11 reporter Steve Iwanek in early 2025. "Because you read about this stuff, but you never actually see it. And then when it's right there in front of you, it's kind of hard to process.”
Most of the bills appeared to be from the early 1980s, with the most recent from 1981, which suggested the money had been hidden for decades.
Finding treasure
Castanedo discovered five envelopes with money inside while gutting the basement of the small home. Some were wedged under bricks where he believed a potbelly stove once sat.
"They were black, but you could just make out when I shined a light on it,” Castanedo explained. “There were 100s in the corners."
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator, $10,000 in January of 1981 would be worth $36,276.44 as of December 2024.
But the real surprise wasn’t the cash itself. After the shock wore off, Castanedo tried to track down someone connected to the home’s past. With a few calls, he reached Andrew Aranyosi, who lived in the house from 1946 to 1967. Aranyosi believed his dad, Andrew Sr., likely hid the money.
"I talked to him (Aranyosi) and I said, 'Look, I found something in your basement," Castanedo told WTOL11. "I found some money in your basement and I'd like to split it with you. "
Aranyosi was shocked. He suspected his dad had likely hidden the cash, but he never knew about it.
"My dad built parts of the home," Aranyosi said. "He added a whole new bedroom on the back of the house above the kitchen, and that's actually the bedroom I was in. The $10,000 — I would say my father definitely tucked that somewhere in the bricks or wherever."
TO READ MORE: https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/ohio-man-bought-1k-house-123000239.html