Another story from the "Dumbass" files, me.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

How do you figure it's a crime to take the money?  If you find twenty bucks on the ground and pick it up, you haven't committed a crime.  You basically did the same thing as dropping your money on the ground.

There's no grounds to believe the money was "lost" and finding the owner would be as easy as taking the money to the bank and explaining how you found it. In most places in the US if you "find" money you are required to surrender it to the police and wait a specific period, 30-90 days. If nobody claims it with evidence then you get it.