A California woman looking to furnish her home got a surprise of a lifetime after finding a sofa on Craigslist – $36,000 hiding under a cushion

ABC 7 reports Vicky Umodu was looking for furniture for her new home in Colton when she found a Craigslist ad for two sofas and a matching chair, all for free.

The family giving away the furniture told Umodu a family member had recently passed away and they were liquidating everything on the property.

“I just moved in, and I don’t have anything in my house. I was so excited, so we picked it up and brought it in,” Umodu told ABC 7.

While examining her new furniture, Umodu discovered an unknown item inside one of the cushions. At first she thought it was a heating pad, but under closer examination, she learned it was envelopes filled with thousands of dollars. 

“I was just telling my son, ‘Come, come, come!’ I was screaming, ‘this is money! I need to call the guy,'” she told ABC 7.

The family confirmed to KABC-TV it was $36,000.

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Umodu said she never had a thought of keeping the money and returned it to the family who had discovered hundreds of dollars hidden throughout the deceased’s home. 

To her surprise, the family gave her $2,200 to buy a new refrigerator as a thank you, ABC 7 reported. 

“I was not expecting a dime from him, I was not,” she told the outlet.

Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha. Email: agilbert@usatoday.com.