Man Finds $150,000 in His Backyard: Should He Have Kept It?

Digging up a fresh batch of basil that you grew in your own garden is a nice feeling. Carrots and potatoes? Even better.

But there's not a vegetable on earth worth $150,000.

That's exactly how much money Wayne Sabaj dug up -- in cash -- in his northern Illinois backyard.

Only, he didn't get to keep it. Or, rather, he chose not to risk it. Which is unfortunate, because the 49-year-old carpenter is currently unemployed and living with his father.

Sabaj told ABC7, "I went over, picked it up, took it to the picnic table, opened it up and said, 'Wow, it is a bunch of money.' Then came into the house, looked at my dad and said, 'Now we are really in trouble.' I could really use this money, [but] with my luck, it would be bank robbery and I'd get caught and say I'd robbed a bank."

He reportedly found the cash while digging up broccoli from his garden. It was contained in multiple duffel bags, in stacks of $20 bills, and actually came in just under $150,000.

Now Sabaj is waiting to find out if anyone can come up with a legitimate claim for the money. If no one does, the police will proceed to help him and his attorney see if they can legally claim the money.

McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren told ABC7, "He did the right thing. I would commend him for that."

Yeah, well, commendations aren't worth a duffel bag of cash.