Authorities are investigating a fraud claim involving a counterfeit $100 bill that was passed at the Family Dollar on West Highway 70. The store’s manager contacted authorities after the fake bill was rejected by the bank.
The manager told authorities that an unidentified man used the bill to purchase items from the store on Monday at approximately 10:00 AM. The manager said that the man stated that he wanted to purchase all of the “burner phones” behind the counter. She told the man that she could not sell them because they were all 2020 phones that had been deactivated. The man ended up purchasing a “pay as you go” phone, toilet paper and laundry detergent.
During the transaction, the manager noticed the man was holding a roll of what appeared to be a large number of $100 bills. When the man handed her a $100 bill to pay for the merchandise, she checked it with a currency marker and it appeared to be real.
The man was quick to assured the manager that the bill was real and told her that she didn’t need to check it. She then checked it a second time with the currency marker. Again, it appeared to be real. The man said that he was in sales and he would know if the bill was counterfeit and even mentioned the bill was made in 2006. When the manager asked about it, the man said that he deals in money and knew how to watch for those things. When the manager commented on the large roll of cash, the man said that he had been at the casino.
The manager accepted the bill because it passed the marker test. When the bill was presented at the bank for deposit, the bill passed the marker test through the teller but was later denied when the bank’s currency counter kicked it out as fake.
The encounter was captured on the store’s surveillance system and is currently under investigation.
