A cardboard box containing $180,000 in cash sat unnoticed in a mailroom at an NYC college for months.
The package was addressed to the physics department at the City College of New York. It was delivered on November 12th, 2020, when the school had transitioned to virtual learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the limited staff who were still working inside the school did not open it until this September, when classes resumed in-person operations.
Vinod Menon, the department chairman, found a note inside from an unknown sender. It stated that he was a graduate who got his degree from the school “long ago” who wished to donate the money as a way of thanking the institution for assisting him in launching a successful scientific career. According to the unnamed individual, he received a double major in physics and mathematics from City College of New York, followed by an MA in physics and a double Ph.D. in physics and astronomy.
“I’ve never seen this kind of money in real life in cash form. I’ve never seen it except in movies, and so, yeah, I was shell shocked, and I just did not know how to react,” Menon told CNN.
The school launched an investigation with the City University of New York system, New York police, US Postal Service, the FBI, and Department of Treasury. They concluded that the money was legitimate and was not obtained illegally but could not locate the donor. The name on the box didn’t match any former students in the CCNY alumni records. The return address also led nowhere.
The physics department will use the money to fund two full-ride scholarships each year until the money runs out.
