Money found at ATM returned to owner in Fla.

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (WHDH) -- A Florida man has cashed in after a complete stranger returned his deposit, which she found sticking out of an ATM.

Sunday afternoon, Adriana Allen stopped by an ATM outside a Chase bank branch along Congress Avenue in Boynton Beach to withdraw money.

Before Allen could make her withdrawal, she discovered a stash of cash inside the ATM. "I had to stop at the ATM to get some cash out, and there it was! $1,800 waiting for me!" she chuckled.

The branch was closed when Allen made the discovery, so she gave it to police. She said, "I had the money in my hand. I just looked around, there were no cars. I pulled my car up right in front of the bank, called 911. I waited until the police officer came to see if somebody was coming back to look for the money."

Authorities held the $1,800 until the bank found its rightful owner, which they did, several days later.

Police called Daniel Lacesa and informed him that the nearly $2,000 he thought he deposited into his account somehow came out of the ATM. "For some reason, the cash itself got kicked out," said Lacesa, "and it apparently came out without me knowing. I drove off."

After confirming the transaction, Chase returned Lacesa's money.

The Stuart man expressed his gratitude to the Good Samaritan who did the right thing. "The effect that this act has had on my life is so significant. Not only the money, which is a lot, but the fact that somebody would do something like this makes me stop and think what's really important in this world, and that's what I thought: We should all be giving charity immediately," Lacesa said.

According to Lacesa, Sunday's incident will not stop him from depositing cash. However, from now on, Lacesa said, he will go inside the bank to make his deposits.