Certainly.
And you probably wouldn't run into too many problems as $700k USD really isn't that much money.
Despite what you see on television and the movies, it actually costs criminals MONEY to look for money that they have lost or that has been stolen from them. They run the risk of creating situations which could cost them multiples more than the amount they lost. If the thief isn't "close" (like someone they know) they are going to do a quick search and then return to earning money.
You'd have to move - Even the dimmest of criminal bulbs would become suspicious if a working slob starting spending money (especially cash) left and right. The old " I got an inheritance" or " I won the lottery" doesn't get it done. Those things happen so rarely that they are usually best to be disbelieved by most. You need to quietly and quickly leave the area.
You can purchase a high-end laptop in cash ( I know; I've done it several times) What you can't do is buy new cars, new jewelry, a ton of new clothes from the same store and anything extremely expensive which is usually paid for by a credit card, a check or a wire transfer in cash. Most people today think "drug dealer" when someone pays more than a few thousand (in some places more than a few hundred) for something in cash and you don't need to attract suspicion.
You would need to find a secure, fireproof place to store the money - Some advice? Rent a large storage locker in a secure place. Buy a beater car and back it into the locker. Buy five or ten cases of cheap motor oil and a garbage can (maybe a crappy toolbox to make the scene complete) and place those items in the locker. Also purchase some sand or cat litter (enough to fill the garbage can) Dealer's choice: Depending upon how the $700k is bundled,take out $50-75k for yourself (traveling money) and put the rest in the bottom of the trash or the next to the bottom case oil of motor oil. If you put it in the can, pour the sand/cat litter in on top of it until the money is covered and then (do this) urinate on the sand or cat litter. If you use the motor oil box, then make certain that it looks like the other boxes. DO NOT store any of the money in the car. If the locker is broken into, they may take a few cases of the oil, but no one will touch a garbage can full of sand or litter that reeks of urine.
Get a regular job and work it for as long as you can stand to. If things go poorly, quit or get fired. Simply continue to live an average life without too much fanfare other than occasionally spending a little of the money.
If you want to open a business, then use your regular savings or your credit cards and open a small business. Find employees who won't mind getting paid in cash for a while and simply pay them in cash and deposit all of the money you make. Open a business account and slowly start to introduce your ill-gotten booty into your business' cash flow. Soon you'll be a position where you can claim that a sizable portion of the $700k is actually legitimate earnings. After a while, begin to pay your employees by check and quietly dismiss those who complain.
When/if your business starts to do well, THEN start spending more money. It will be plausible to do so then, and you won't attract suspicion as you're now a prosperous businessperson. Pay your taxes on time and to the penny and don't get "funny" with anything else (drugs,gambling,etc.) If your business does poorly, close it down and take the tax write off for its failure. This can also explain your sudden "windfall".
Don't tell anybody that you have the money or where you got it. NO ONE. If that person might some day be your enemy, do you really want them to know your biggest secret?
If you are in poor health and you have a relative or close friend who you trust, send them two letters and ask them to open them when/if you pass away. Have the first letter state the address of the storage facility and enclose a key w/ the unit # (if you use one to keep the money) and in the second tell them where exactly in the car you have left a third letter. In the third letter tell them where what is left is of the money is located. Again, do NOT tell them the money's origin (they might do something silly like give it to charity or worse, turn it over to the police.) Tell them in the second letter if the car is gone, then a fourth letter is taped to the bottom of the trash can. In that letter tell them the location of the money.
Even if you are curious or homesick, DO NOT return to the area where you found the money. The temptation to tell people in that area about it will be too great and there might be the slimmest of chances that the criminals who lost it will still be in the area.
Again, $700k USD isn't that much money (the average American earns between &40-70k annually according to Parade Magazine) so it will only represent about 10-15 years worth of wages.
Read other answers by
Jon Mixon on Quora:
Taxes: I played online poker for 4 years in college (2006-2010) and I didn't report taxes on around 75k. I don't have the money to pay for backtaxes anymore, and I'm afraid of getting caught and going to jail... what are my options? The IRS (or anyone else) has not approached me about this yet.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS): Can you settle with the IRS if you haven't filed a return in years despite making millions?
Rick Perry: Is Gov. Rick Perry only proposing his Flat Tax plan because Herman Cain has proposed one and is currently beating him in the polls?
Read more answers on Quora.