Florida McDonald’s customer scatters fake $100 bills around table, gets arrested

Florida McDonald’s customer scatters fake $100 bills around table, gets arrested

A messy McDonald’s patron ended up in handcuffs after he littered the floor around his table with $100 bills, according to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.

It happened Sept. 27 at a McDonald’s in Naples before restaurant staff called the cops, officials said in a news release. Naples is about 170 miles south of Tampa.

“Around 1:35 p.m. (a man) ordered a meal … and paid for it with a fake $100 bill. Recognizing the money was fake, workers returned it to (him) and took back the meal,” officials said.

“Detectives responded and … found multiple counterfeit bills and washed dollar bills in (his) pockets and on the floor under his table in the restaurant.”

An investigation revealed the 53-year-old man had been manufacturing his own money at a nearby hotel, which had evicted him from his room earlier in the day, officials said.

Detectives found the man’s belongings still sitting in the hotel’s foyer and the pile included multiple items “used to manufacture counterfeit money,” officials said.

“Those items included acetone, laundry detergent, press boards, a laptop computer, and a printer. (He) left behind printer paper and latex gloves in the room he had rented at the hotel, and the sink appeared to be covered in black ink,” officials said.

The man was arrested and charged with uttering a false bill or promissory note and possession of 10 or more counterfeit notes. Records revealed he is currently “on probation out of Idaho,” officials said.

©2023 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.