"This couch changed my life!"
In a tale that feels like a film, a 32-year-old man from Detroit purchased a worn sofa from Facebook Marketplace for just $50 and discovered $2.3 million in cash hidden inside.
The crazy thing?
He nearly trashed it without a look.
The Sketchy $50 Couch No One Liked
Jake Thompson, a part-time mechanic and father of two, needed a budget-friendly couch for his small apartment. He found a worn, brown one for $50 on Facebook. The seller, an elderly woman, was disposing of her late brother's belongings.
Jake bought it, drove it home in a rented van, and put it in his living room.
"It was ugly, but okay for a sit and a beer," Jake laughed.
But he didn't know this couch would change his life.
"I Found Something Hard in the Armrest..."
One night, while Jake was watching TV, his remote fell between the cushions. When he reached in, he felt something odd in the armrest.
Not just coins or bits... but something hard. Shaped like a brick. Wrapped.
He cut it open and found lots of cash. Then more.
"My heart raced. I thought it was drug money or something. You could see stacks of hundred-dollar bills... just everywhere."
In three hours, Jake found 23 bricks of cash — $2.3 million total in clean money.
"I Thought I'd Be Shot"
At first, Jake was so scared. He thought the cash was from a drug group or something worse. He couldn't sleep. He hid the cash in his bathtub under towels and locked the door.
“I thought thugs would knock on my door and ask for it back.”
But days went by. No one came. No calls. No threats. Nothing.
So he went to a lawyer.
LEGALLY... He Can Keep It!?"
Jake's lawyer told him that under Michigan's "Finders Keepers" laws, if no one claims cash found in bought goods in 90 days, and it was bought rightly, the finder can keep it.
Three months later? It's his.
“I cried when they told me. I've never had more than $1,500 before,” said Jake, shocked.
From Renter to Millionaire Quick
Jake didn't wait. He:
Bought his first house in cash.
Cleared his debts.
Set up college funds for his kids.
Gave $100,000 to a local shelter.
"This money gave me a new start. I won’t struggle again."
Who Hid the Cash?
Things got weirder…
Jake spoke to the old woman who sold him the sofa. She was as shocked as he was.
She shared that her brother, who died in 2022, didn’t trust banks and hid cash all around. No one thought the sofa had so much cash.
“He always said your safest spot was under your butt,” she joked.
She said no to taking any cash back.
“He said if anyone found it, they deserved it. I think he’d be glad it helped someone."
News of Jake's find blew up:
#SofaMillionaire trended on TikTok.
120 million views on related videos.
Memes like “Checking my sofa now” and “I might be sitting on a fortune too!”
Even Snoop Dogg tweeted:
"If there's millions in a couch?! Checking grandma’s stuff now."
People Now Digging Through Couches
Thrift stores and old furniture shops are packed as people hope for a find.
“Our store sold out in two days,” a Goodwill manager said. “Folks came with lights and dug into our display sofas.”
Not The First Time...
Jake's not the first to find hidden riches in furniture. Check this:
A family in California found $700,000 in gold coins in a piano bench in 2015.
In 2021, a lady in New York found a $22,000 diamond ring in an old recliner.
In 1999, a man found a stolen Picasso sketch behind a $5 painting.
So yeah… check your sofas.
Final Thoughts: What Would YOU Do?
If you found $2.3 million in a couch...
Return it?
Keep it?
Invest it?
Keep it quiet?
Share your thoughts in the comments!
And think: that old couch you sit on... could be your gold mine.
SHARE THIS: You never know who might find a reason to check their old stuff!