Longview restaurant says counterfeit bills hurt business

LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) - An East Texas restaurant manager is warning the public to be watchful for fake bills.

Tuesday night Longview Jason’s Deli manager Jarrod Guyer says someone tried to pass a counterfeit 100 dollar bill at his restaurant.

“We were busy. That night we actually found a counterfeit bill as a tip on a table they left for the employee. Originally the employees like ‘wow’ a 100 dollar tip,” he says.

But a close examination of the very real looking bill, showed font that said ‘for motion picture use only’.

Easy to miss on a busy night, with a packed house.

But other counterfeits, according to Spring Hill bank worker Dixie Walker, are very cleverly disguised.

“The thing you need to know is how does real money feel? They’ve use the same type of print on that bill. So if you’re running through your money quickly, that font matches. On a real bill the paper feels more like fabric,” Dixie says.

Months before, someone had passed a bill at Jason’s Deli that was only detected after it was deposited at the bank. It was real currency that had been altered.

“We originally found one in November. They were 5-dollar bills and then they were washed and reprinted,” Guyer says.

Altered into 100 dollar bills.

It’s not a victimless crime.

“We try to educate people this is what’s out there now,” Walker says.

“We just wanted the community to know, that this is going around. Double check your bills because you never know,” Jarrod says.

Walker at Spring Hill bank has notified the Secret Service about the counterfeit currency.

Copyright 2023 KLTV. All rights reserved.