Cash found in garden given to neighbor’s daughter

A McHenry County judge awarded most of the $150,000 found by a Johnsburg man to the daughter of the neighbor who claimed the money. Wayne Sabaj died last week at age 51 from complications resulting from diabetes. Sabaj found a nylon bag stuffed with bundles of $20 bills in his garden in 2011. He turned the money over to the McHenry County sheriff’s office, which told him he could keep the cash if no one claimed it.

Sabaj’s neighbor Delores Johnson claimed the money, saying she thought it was cursed and had thrown it over the fence. Johnson died in December at the age of 87.

Judge Thomas Meyer on Thursday gave the money to Johnson’s daughter, Diane Howe. He gave an undisclosed finder’s fee to Wayne Sabaj’s son, Kevin.