In a now-viral post, a college student said they had their boyfriend arrested after he stole $14,000 from them and is now asking Reddit if they're to blame in the situation.
Posting in Reddit's "Am I The A**hole" (AITA) forum under the username u/Personal-Muddy, the student asked: "AITA for getting my boyfriend arrested?" The post has garnered over 22,000 upvotes and roughly 4,000 comments from supportive Redditors, begging the student not to drop the charges. You can read the full post here.
"I'll just get straight to it. I'm a college student and this is my last semester [before] medical school. I've never been able to get a loan [so] I've worked 5 1/2 years to get this degree because I've [had] to pay out of pocket," u/Personal-Muddy said at the beginning of their post.
u/Personal-Muddy said they stored the money they made from work inside a box they kept in the closet, and deposited it before each new semester so they could pay their tuition costs.
Storing Cash at Home
Many experts agree that it's good to keep some cash at home in case of emergencies; however, they say the total amount shouldn't exceed $1,000.
"It depends on person to person, but an amount less than $1000 is almost always preferred. There simply isn't enough good reason to keep large amounts of liquid cash lying around the house. Banks are infinitely safer," Jesse Cramer, founder of The Best Interest and relationship manager at Cobblestone Capital Advisors, told GoBankingRates.
But whether a person decides to store $10 or $10,000, Ryan McCarty, CFP from McCarty Money Matters, recommends that people keep their cash inside "bolted down safe."
"Make sure the safe is fire and waterproof to avoid any damage. Make sure you deposit and replace the money on occasion so that the bills don't get too old," McCarty told GoBankingRates.
Unfortunately, u/Personal-Muddy had $14,000 at home, and though they didn't tell anyone about their box, it was pretty easy to find and wasn't very secure.
'Am I The A**hole'
"Since I [started] saving for this semester, [my boyfriend] is the only one who's been over. I've never told him about the box but he knows I have to pay for school," u/Personal-Muddy wrote.
"Well, yesterday night I get home [and go] to put money in the box...and it's all gone," they continued.
Naturally, u/Personal-Muddy "freaked out" and called their boyfriend over and over again with no answer. The next morning, u/Personal-Muddy's boyfriend finally called back, but when u/Personal-Muddy asked about the money, their boyfriend acted "confused." Later that day, however, he admitted to stealing the money—all of it.
Enraged, u/Personal-Muddy called the police and had their boyfriend arrested. Now, u/Personal-Muddy's boyfriend's family is begging them to drop the charges, promising they'll pay the money back.
"I don't know what to do...I'm just really pissed off and have been crying all f**king day," they concluded.
Redditors React
Redditors said u/Personal-Muddy was right to call the police and begged them not to drop the charges. Many also advised u/Personal-Muddy to keep their money in a banking account moving forward.
"DO NOT DROP THE CHARGES," u/Bruiscear wrote. "Why would you drop the charges?? He STOLE from you. He deserves to go to prison...NTA [not the a**hole]."
"Definitely NTA," u/redronin2015 agreed. "Advice as an adult—don't drop the charges, drop the boyfriend like a hot rock...$14k is a lot of money."
"NTA. He stole from you. He got himself arrested...Once you have the money, peace out and leave him to rot. And please use a bank in the future. Don't keep that much money lying around," u/Inconceivable44 commented.
Newsweek has reached out to u/Personal-Muddy for comment.
Other 'AITA' Posts
Online commenters slammed a "selfish" wife on Friday for attempting to throw her pregnant daughter-in-law out on the street.
On Tuesday, Redditors criticized an "idiot" father for attending his stepdaughter's birthday party instead of his biological son's high school graduation party.
And commenters blasted a man last week for defending his mother against his wife.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Sara Santora is a Newsweek reporter based in Florida. Her focus is reporting on viral social media posts and trends. ... Read more
