Man Purchased Storage Unit For $500 And Found $7.5 Million In Cash Within

Apr 22, 2020 by apost team

It’s the modern American equivalent of a treasure hunt. The enormous popularity of shows like “Storage Wars” has excited national interest in the practice of buying storage lockers, contents unseen, in the hope of finding forgotten treasure. In California in 2018, one couple struck gold after buying a storage unit at an auction.

The couple bought a unit at auction, then went in to see what they had gotten. Inside the unit, they found a safe. They had to hire someone to get it open, but when they did, they got a shock.

Actually, they got 7.5 million shocks, as they found $7.5 million in cash.

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Sometimes storage lockers are repossessed because of nonpayment, sometimes owners forget about them, or they pass away and other family members may not know the unit exists.

It’s unclear what the situation was with this locker, although it’s hard to believe that anyone with $7.5 million in cash sitting in a locker would have trouble paying the rent.

The story was shared by Dan Dotson, best known for his role in “Storage Wars.” However this auction wasn’t part of the show, but rather a normal auction through his California company, American Auctioneers.

He didn’t give away the couple’s name, what they paid for the locker, or where it was located. He didn’t want them inundated with press and wanted to be sure to respect their privacy.

Not surprisingly, the original owners of the storage unit wanted their money back. Enter the lawyers. The original owners offered the couple $600,000. After more negotiation, they settled on $1.2 million and returned the rest. The new owners were actually nervous about the money, feeling it might not be ‘clean.’

Dotson admits that even though he has seen people find all kinds of treasures, he’s never had anyone find that much cash.

The story does stir up a lot of questions. Where did the money come from and how did it end up in that storage locker? What was the immediate reaction of the original owners when they got the news the unit had been sold? How did the new owners feel when they finally opened that safe and saw piles of cash?

It also brings up lottery-style daydreams. What would one do with an unexpected multi million-dollar windfall?

If buying storage lockers was becoming popular before, this enormous prize has certainly stoked the fire. Who knows what kind of treasure may lie buried in amidst the cardboard boxes? Let us know what you think in the comments below!