The IRS has a section for paying your taxes on illegal/criminal money lol. Claiming it on taxes isn’t the problem. There are other property laws that come into play. Generally, you have to turn it in to the police and let an appropriate waiting/notification period pass before it is considered unclaimed and then legally yours.
The only real exception to this are bearer bonds which the US effectively outlawed in the 1980s so it’d have to be older than that and the issuing entity still exist.
Unfortunately in much of the US, that is the law for found assets/property above relatively nominal amounts. At the least a reasonable attempt to find the owner is common law almost everywhere. Cops of course runs into potential issues with civil forfeiture and the like but I’m not sure of a way around that.
I read it as consult a lawyer to make sure it’s done by the books. So that the money doesn’t “go missing”, you don’t get accused of being associated with a crime, etc.
The IRS has a section for paying your taxes on illegal/criminal money lol. Claiming it on taxes isn’t the problem. There are other property laws that come into play. Generally, you have to turn it in to the police and let an appropriate waiting/notification period pass before it is considered unclaimed and then legally yours.
The only real exception to this are bearer bonds which the US effectively outlawed in the 1980s so it’d have to be older than that and the issuing entity still exist.
NAL, not legal advice, but don’t do that. Consult a lawyer…
Unfortunately in much of the US, that is the law for found assets/property above relatively nominal amounts. At the least a reasonable attempt to find the owner is common law almost everywhere. Cops of course runs into potential issues with civil forfeiture and the like but I’m not sure of a way around that.
I read it as consult a lawyer to make sure it’s done by the books. So that the money doesn’t “go missing”, you don’t get accused of being associated with a crime, etc.
And of course, by turning it in to the police, it ensures that neither you nor the original owner of the money will receive it.