Parents' 'Punishment' Splits Views As Their Daughter Is Left With $62K Debt

A father has caused debate online after describing how his daughter stole $61,347.93 from him and his wife.

In the Reddit post, which has over 6,000 upvotes, a father by the name of caterpillerwings described how after a recent call from his bank, he discovered that a check had been charged to his account that was made out to "the tuition office of the university my oldest three kids attend."

After investigating, he discovered, "one of my kids snagged my checkbook and wrote a tuition check for a friend of theirs (there's a much bigger story behind why this kid couldn't pay but that's private, and my wife and I agreed to fund this young person's education because of their private struggles)."

According to a 2021 survey by Fidelity Investments entitled "College Savings and Student Debt," 38 percent of high school students and one in four parents believe that total cost of attendance for one year of college equates to roughly $5,000 or less.

According to an article by U.S. News, the average cost of tuition and fees for a public college in state is about 74 percent less than the average official price at a private college, at $10,423 for the 2022/2023 year compared with $39,723 respectively. The average cost for out-of-state students at a public college comes to $22,953 for the same year.

After "grilling" his kids, the father found out that his daughter "Joanna" had cashed the check. "Joanna was apologetic," he explained. "But she was also quite insistent that she stood behind her actions. I respect my daughter for her convictions, and she really did have good reasons for why she did it by the fact remains that she stole then she hid it. Joanna asked what her punishment is and I told her to get a job because she now owes her mother and I $62,000."

In an edit, the father updated readers that he has had private messages suggesting that he should "have criminal charges brought against my daughter."

He goes on to explain: "My family is Black. America's criminal and legal system does not treat Black men and woman with any respect, and I will not subject my daughter to criminal charges because every day we see what happens to Black humans in the American criminal system."

In 2021, 203 Black people were killed by the police according to non-profit organization Mapping Police Violence, 27 percent of the total number of people killed by police.

"Here's the thing," he continued. "I don't expect Joanna to pay us back and if she came to me tomorrow with the money I wouldn't take it. What I want is to see an effort made. An acknowledgement of her actions and the consequences. If I see that she's actively trying I'll tell her that she doesn't have to pay me back. She's my kid and I love her so all I want is for her to learn a lesson.

"But, Joanna doesn't know all this, all she thinks is that she owes me $62,000. So, naturally I'm a horrible father and a very mean person."

Opinions were divided online as to whether the father was acting correctly or not. User CrystalQueen3000 said: "I actually think you should follow through and expect her to pay it back in full." SassyFrazz76 agreed: "Same, otherwise she'll think from now on, oh I just have to do what he wants for a couple weeks and I'll be good."

User lovebombme2u disagreed: "Yes, OP. At least have her pay back half and then you can forgive the rest and use the money for her welfare in the future ... like put it in a 529 for her children," as did level 1 solo_throwaway254247, who said: "She has a good heart, which is good. Job well done there raising her. That said, she should have asked first. It's your money not hers. And stealing is stealing no matter the reason behind it."

Newsweek has reached out for comment.