A Man Found Haribo's Lost $4.8 Million Check And All He Got Was Candy

Most of us are raised to do good and expect nothing in return. Well one German man will likely do so in the future after the sorry way he was repaid for doing a favor to a major corporation.

The company in question is Haribo, which most people know as the manufacturer of Goldbears, perhaps better known to the general population as gummy bears. The brand has been marketing this "original” version of the chewy candy since 1922, according to their site. There are five Goldbear flavors in the original product, including strawberry and pineapple, but there are plenty of spinoff products as well, like sour Goldbears and non-teddy shaped items, like Twin Snakes and Sour Streamers.

Now, the brand is being publicly shamed because some people may think a man's act of kindness was rewarded somewhat cheaply. It all began, as so many stories do, on a regular day, with a regular guy just walking down the street.

According to an article by Insider, a man named Anouar G. was walking down the street in Germany when he saw a loose piece of paper flying about. Upon further inspection, he discovered that it was a check made out to Haribo for a whopping 4.6 million euros, which is equivalent to about $4.8 million. The check was made out to Haribo by Rewe, a grocery chain local to Germany.

Being the good Samaritan that he apparently is, Anouar G. got in touch with Haribo about the check. An attorney for the company instructed him to destroy it and provide photographic evidence that he'd done so. He complied and was probably thanked verbally for handling the situation in such an honest manner. His pride over a job well done then turned into bewilderment, however, when he received a thank you gift from the gummy bear purveyor: a package containing six Haribo candy packets. He doesn't specify the type and size of the candies, but as the products are not exactly high-end, they couldn't be worth more than a nominal sum. For what it's worth, the company said that Anouar G. was sent the "standard thank you package." Anouar G. has also gone on record with the German newspaper Bild saying that the gift was "a bit cheap." After this public PR disaster, it's possible that the company will spring for a bit more in the future.