Service technician Juan Ibarra was working on a Mercedes-Benz SL550, that Park Place Motorcars Fort Worth received as a trade-in, when he discovered a bag in the trunk. When he opened the bag he saw stacks of $100 bills.
“I jumped back like I’d seen a snake,” said Ibarra. “My first thought was, ‘is this dirty money?’ I immediately took it to my service director. Nobody wanted to touch it. We didn’t even count it.”
“Juan has always been a real ‘go-to’ guy,” said George Johnson, General Manager at Park Place Motorcars Fort Worth. “He’s a man of the highest integrity. I’m very proud of him.”
Juan Ibarra with Park Place Motorcars FW General Manager- George Johnson
“It never even crossed my mind to take any of the money,” said Ibarra. “We just wanted to find out who the money belonged to and get it back to them.”
It took about a week before the owner was tracked down. Turns out he was a bail bondsman and the cash didn’t exactly belong to him either. The money was given to him for a bond. Needless to say, he was very relieved to get it back.
After counting the money, he confirmed that all $50,000 was accounted for and was thankful someone honest had found it. “About a month later the guy came back with a nice card and some money in it,” said Ibarra. “The card was enough for me. He was very grateful.”