Police have charged a couple with "theft by finding"

Well there is precedent in Queensland, Au that is going to work against these people. The charge is only theft because they treated the money as their own before making some form of inquiry about it. I still call it bs, but what are you going to do?

 

If I buy something cheap that turns out to have a lot of cash value is that theft too?

I fail to see how this is at all legal... they BOUGHT the suitcase. They PAID for it and everything that came with it?

 

How 'bout guilty of
being innocent?

Theft by burning?

The IRS taxes stolen monies?

Probably.
Theft by deception?

Have any of y'all ever had a shipper load too much product in your trailer?
Better start triple counting your loads. Y'all might be charged with theft and fleeing the state to avoid prosecution, receiving stolen property, conspiracy to commit theft, transporting stolen merchandise across state lines or criminal intent.

In the eyes of the law, ignorance is no excuse.

 

No irs in au.. its the ATO.. still scumbags.

Victorian police at their finest///

 

This is crazy. They didn't find the money. Finding it would be walking down street and "discovering" the money. They purchased the money, or they made an investment in a suitcase and the return was 10s of thousands of dollars. If they can be charged with anything I would say it would not paying taxes on their newly acquired money.

I'm not saying they are wrong for keeping the money. It would have been smarter for them not to leave a paper trail and deposit the money into their accounts. The suitcase purchase was traced to them because they used some type of money card. To protect themselves, they should have never deposited the money and they should have had a yard sale with a certain piece of luggage at a very good deal. .

 

Taxes are not required on second hand purchases...

theft wont stick, and return of the money is a moral, not legal issue.

 

Wouldn't the found money be considered income? Even then they wouldn't have commited a crime unless they failed to claim it next year.

 

nope, being that they didnt earn it.

smart investment in second hand goods doesnt equal income.

i dare say the person that had the cash there will need to answer more than a couple of q's