Waitress rewarded with $1,000 for returning wad of cash

A Florida waitress who found a wad of $100 bills on her shift last week chased after the man she thought forgot it at his table and gave it to him.

The problem was...it was the wrong man.

"I feel really bad," Samantha Knight, who waits tables at the Laishley Crab House in Punta Gorda, tells NBC. "I wish I had just held on to it and waited for someone to call. But I thought I was giving it to the right guy."

The money's rightful owner, identified as Chuck Behm, was visiting from Chicago and returned to the restaurant the next day looking for the money. When both Knight and Behm realized what had happened, they didn't have much hope it would be returned, despite the fact that the entire incident was caught on security camera, reports ABC.

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"I was like you left this in the booth. He said thanks, patted his pocket and walked away," recalls Knight.

The police aired the security footage on local news which shows the mystery man exiting the establishment just a few steps behind the Behm. Authorities asked the public for help in getting the money returned.

Then on Sunday, the mystery man stepped forward claiming it was all a big misunderstanding. He claimed to be visiting from Delaware and also carrying a wad of cash with him, consequently not realizing the money belonged to someone else until he saw himself on the news.

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"He sounded very sincere," Knight tells New York Daily News. "He gave me another 100 dollars on top of that for my troubles."

When Knight contacted Behm with the good news that the money had been returned, he astonishingly told her to keep the entire $1,000 as a Christmas gift.

"I'm overwhelmed. I was crying earlier. I called my mom and was like I can't believe it," says Knight

Knight, who is pregnant, says the money will go a long way in helping her prepare for the holidays.