A Mobile-area fast-food manager says a moment of honesty turned into an unexpected dispute after he handed over a prepaid card he says was loaded with more than $10,000 to the store where it appeared to have been issued.
Demetrius Reynolds, a graduate of Davidson High School who works as a manager at a fast-food restaurant, said he was sweeping the parking lot in mid-February when he spotted a blue prepaid Visa card lying on the ground. Reynolds, who has been working to pay his way through the University of South Alabama, said he checked the balance out of curiosity and found it listed at more than $10,000.
Rather than keep the card, Reynolds said he decided to take it to the retailer whose name appeared on it, hoping employees could track down the rightful owner. He said a customer service worker took the card without asking for his name or contact information, and that when he returned the next day to check on it, no one could tell him what had happened to it.
The retailer’s local store management later said it had no record of a card matching that description and no evidence the balance Reynolds described was accurate, noting that a standard prepaid card of that type from the company is capped well below $10,000 and that a card’s balance can’t be verified through a register at a different business. A corporate spokesperson said the company could not locate the card Reynolds described, has referred the matter to law enforcement, and will continue to look into it if authorities pursue it further.
Reynolds said he stands by his account of what he found and turned in. Word of his decision spread through Project Focus, a local mentoring program for young men, whose members knew Reynolds through his work with the group. A fellow participant in the program started an online fundraiser to help Reynolds cover tuition and car repairs, calling his choice to return the card an example of strong character. The fundraiser has drawn more than $5,000 in donations.
The disagreement between Reynolds’ account and the retailer’s records remains unresolved, with both the company and Reynolds saying they hope the matter eventually gets sorted out.