A Costco employee as honest as the day is long is being celebrated after returning an envelope of $4,000 cash to a shopper.

John Sotelo had set himself a goal of working hard enough through August to make Employee of the Month, and thanks to his selfless act, he now has a plaque hanging on the wall of the store.

At the Costco on Shaw and Clovis Avenue in Clovis, California, Sotelo was putting away cases of bottled water when something on one of the pallets caught his eye. It was an envelope it seemed.

It contained $3,940, and Sotelo immediately notified his managers. Together, they tracked down the member who misplaced it using surveillance footage and her member ID.

"It was crazy because my manager walked me outside, and the member was right there," Sotelo told KFSN ABC News 30. "So yeah, she told me like, ‘Oh, you know, I'm so glad you found this. That's for my kids to go to school.' I'm like, ‘Okay,' you know, ‘well I'm happy to help.'"

In tough economic times, it's inspiring to know there are people who will still choose to do the right thing when the opportunity for the wrong presents itself.

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