What should a person do who participated in the theft of a car's "hubcap" with the receipt and benefited from it for a short period, then returned it to his friend to return it to its owner, and does not know whether it was returned or not? Should he give its value in charity on behalf of its owner, or does the responsibility fall on the thief?

If the penitent has not returned the stolen item to its owner, he is liable for his participation in the theft. His returning the stolen item to its owner so that he may return it to the one from whom it was stolen does not absolve him unless its owner has already returned the stolen item. If its owner has not returned the right, then the penitent must return it to absolve himself, and he may claim the value from its owner who did not return the stolen item. Giving charity equal to the value of the stolen item is not sufficient as long as the right can be returned to its rightful owners.