A recent McDonald’s customer is being praised for his integrity after returning about $5,000 he accidentally received, he said, instead of his McDonald’s to-go order.
In a recent TikTok video that’s been viewed over 600,000 times, user Josiah Vargas (@dookiedoeboy) shares how he ordered a sausage McMuffin, only to discover his to-go bag was filled with small bags of money.
“I just went to McDonald’s and they handed me my sausage McMuffin in this bag,” Vargas said while in his car filming the video. “Well what’s in this bag? Their fucking deposit. Why? Just a couple of thousand dollars here.”
He then says he’s going to return the money back because “he’s a good person.”
@dookiedoeboy #fyp #mcdonalds #deposit #dogoodthings ♬ original sound – Josiah Vargas
“Why would you guys do this to me?” Vargas says of the fast food chain. “Do you know how bad I want this money? Why put me in this situation?”
He later documents himself going back into the McDonald’s location, and he hands the bag to workers while jokingly stating, “You guys laundering money out here?” as employees gasp in surprise.
“Oh my God, I really want to give you a hug,” one employee is captured saying.
Vargas said many of the employees were hugging and crying over the fact that he gave the money back.
“I get free McDonald’s for a month I guess. Wow,” he says.
He went on to mention that he did receive a cash reward of sorts, although it paled in comparison to the amount of money he returned back.
“When I was driving away they called me back in to give me $200,” Vargas concludes. “Do good people. Return $5,000 and get $200 and free McDonald’s for a month. Good trade value … and maybe a viral TikTok.”
McDonald’s has not yet returned the Daily Dot’s request for comment. Some state laws require residents to return money to the police if a certain amount is found and they’re unable to return it to its original owner. A study from the journal Science found that people are actually more likely to return a missing wallet containing money, and the more money a wallet has, the more likely people are to return it, the New York Times reported.
In a follow-up TikTok video, Vargas says he went back to the McDonald’s later—and he had to end up paying for his meal.
“They put my name down and my number, and I had to pay for my two McChickens and a Sprite, which is fine,” Vargas explains. “I’m not too worried about it.”
In response to his original video, many commenters praised Vargas’s integrity and willpower to give the money back.
“You saved someone’s job,” one commenter said.
“Ok but in all seriousness that amount wouldn’t phase the corporation a bit,” another commenter said. “The workers and their jobs on the other hand…you’re awesome for doing that”
Others admitted they likely wouldn’t have given the money back at all.
“I would literally be like, ‘The universe has blessed me,’” one person said. “And drive away. Lol.”
“Nah I’m McKeeping that,” someone joked.
The Daily Dot reached out to Vargas via TikTok comment.
We crawl the web so you don’t have to.
Sign up for the Daily Dot newsletter to get the best and worst of the internet in your inbox every day.
*First Published: Jan 17, 2023, 11:34 am CST
Allyson Waller
Allyson Waller is freelance writer for the Daily Dot. She’s a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and has written for other publications such as the New York Times and the Miami Herald. Outside of the journalism world, some of her joys include delving into book recommendations from TikTok, listening to pop culture podcasts, and playing with her dog, Theo.
