What Would You Do? Man Returns $690M VA Check

By Edward Lovett

The federal deficit is too high, as both President Obama and Mitt Romney would agree. But it could be almost $1 billion higher if not for one man’s simple act.

According to ABC affiliate WTVM, Allen Smith, a 22-year-old Columbus, Ga. area resident, gets a monthly Veterans Administration dependency check from the U.S. Treasury for college expenses (his late father was an Air Force veteran). His last check wasn’t the usual $650, his mother said — it was more than $690,000,000.

“He immediately, immediately went to the V.A. officer at Fort Benning … and turned in the check,” Patricia Attwood Smith told WTVM.

A V.A. inspector told Smith he couldn’t explain the check, speculating it could have been a misprint or the result of computer hacking, the report said. Fort Benning V.A. officers told WTVM the regional office in Atlanta was handling the matter.

Allen Smith declined to comment, but his mother said he was happy with his decision, despite his car needing a new clutch.

“He’s very humble, and very shy, and he really doesn’t want to be teased a lot about this,” Smith told WTVM.

“His father would have been totally thrilled,” Smith said.

Below, watch a scenario from ABC’s  ”What Would You Do?” on how people react to “found money”: