LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) – A judge on Friday threw out criminal charges against four men who were arrested after they claimed to have found a pile of antique money buried in a backyard.

Police later determined that the four roofers found the money in the rafters in an old barn in Newbury last April. Two of the men were charged larceny, and the other two with receiving stolen property.

Lawrence District Court Judge Thomas Brennan dismissed the charges Friday morning, according to a spokesman for the prosecution and a lawyer for the defense.

In April the concocted story of buried treasure made national headlines.

The 1,800 antique bills dating from 1899 to 1928 have a face value of about $7,000. A coin dealer who had been contacted by the roofers to appraise the money said he received an offer of $720,000 for the collection.

Steve O’Connell, a spokesman for the Essex District Attorney’s office, said prosecutors were reviewing the judge’s ruling to determine whether to refile the charges.

Tim Crebase of Methuen, and Barry Billcliff, of Manchester, N.H., faced charges of larceny over $250 from a person over 60 years old. Kevin Kozak of Methuen and Matthew Ingham of Newton, N.H., faced charges of receiving stolen property, conspiracy and being an accessory after the fact.

When the men were charged, police said the money belonged to Sylvia J. Littlefield, 75, the barn’s owner.

Lawyers for the men argued that the charges should be dismissed because nobody knew the money was hidden in the barn, which made it abandoned property.

The money remains in the possession of the Methuen police department, said Michael Ruane, a lawyer for Crebase.

It is unclear who will get the money now or how the dispute will be resolved, said both Ruane and O’Connell.

AP-ES-02-17-06 1715EST