‘This is Cecil. He has never done anything bad in his life until he ate $4,000.’

Clayton Law pulled $4,000 out of his joint savings account last month. He and his wife were having a fence installed at their home in Pittsburgh, and the workers asked to be paid in cash.

After returning from the bank with a sealed envelope full of $100 and $50 bills, he set the money on a kitchen counter, intending to stash it away. But he never got the chance.