One Cleveland Waitress is Rich for a Day

Virginia Hopkins has been a waitress at Johnny’s Downtown Restaurant in Cleveland for 19 years. She was only owed a $754 tax return, but when she opened her return, she found a check for $434,712. She did not think of keeping the money for a second, but she was not entirely sure how to return the check to the IRS. She was on her way to work when she opened the check, so for that day, co-workers and family daydreamed about the fun ways that Virginia could spend that money. 

The following day, she went to the Cleveland IRS to return the check.  Unfortunately, for privacy reasons, the IRS cannot reveal why the error in her return check occurred. Virginia may not have been able to keep the money, but she is now a local celebrity around her restaurant. When asked if she was getting better tips in response to the fame, she indicated that she seemed to be. 

See Nils Kongshaug, Waitress Gets Half-Million Dollar Tax Refund, Yahoo! News, May 31, 2012.