A homeless man returns a bag with $42,000 in it. Would a Wall St banker do that? Not likely.

Honesty pays off for homeless Boston man

“James said a medical condition made it hard for him to work, but God had always looked after him”, reports Pia Harold

Donations of more than $110,000 (£67,000) have poured in from across the US for a Boston homeless man who returned a lost bag with $42,000 in it.

Glen James alerted police after he found the backpack containing cash and traveller’s cheques last weekend, and the bag’s owner was then tracked down.

A complete stranger later started an online fund for Mr James after reading media reports about his honesty.

The man, Ethan Whittington, now plans to meet Mr James to give him the money.

Mr Whittington, who lives in Midlothian, Virginia, said he was so overwhelmed by Mr James’ honesty that he decided to start the fund.

“The fact that he’s in the situation he is, being homeless, it blew my mind that he would do this,” Mr Whittington was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

He said his idea of starting donations on a crowdfunding website for Mr James “caught on like wildfire ever since”.

“It’s brought me a lot of hope. This isn’t only about rewarding a great guy. I think it’s a statement to everyone in America.

“If we come together and work toward one thing and work together, then we can make it happen.”

Meanwhile, Mr James, a former Boston courthouse employee, said that he would not have kept “even a penny” of the money he had found in the backpack – even if he were desperate.