Funny money passed in purchases at Rockingham business

ROCKINGHAM — Police have received reports of counterfeit currency twice in as many days — from the same business.

Nana’s Coffee Rocks, which is located behind the Rockingham Police Department, has had two would-be customers bring in fake $100 bills in consecutive days this week.

On Monday, a young black female, presumably in her early to mid-20s, came into the coffee shop and ordered a drink, paying with an older $100 bill. She received more than $90 in change and left with the drink.

The barista didn’t think about the bill as being fake until after the customer had left the building. However, the responding officer recognized it as counterfeit before even touching it.

The following day, a young black male, estimated to be in his late teens or early 20s, came in to purchase a drink and he too tried to use an identical bill.

However, with the experience less than 24 hours prior, the barista recognized it as a fake and told the customer. When confronted, the customer claimed he had received the bogus Benjamin from selling a game.

He asked the barista how much the drink cost, then said he would be right back with real money to pay for his purchase. However, he continued walking down S. Lawrence Street toward E. Washington Street as police were being called and never returned for the drink.

(Note: This writer was present for both incidents. The Richmond Observer and Nana’s Coffee Rocks occupy the same building, IncSpace.)

In both cases, the bills appear to be from the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago’s 1985 series, with a faded likeness of Benjamin Franklin.

Counterfeit detector pens do not immediately work on this round of funny money, according to coffee shop owner Sherry Roberts.

Roberts posted a warning to other business owners on the shop’s Facebook page Tuesday morning prior to the second incident.

Until Monday, RPD investigators said they had not received any counterfeit reports since February.

However, Linda Hough of Sly’s Famous Diner in Rockingham posted a photo to Facebook last week, saying a fake $100 bill had been passed at her restaurant.

That bill was stamped with the words “For Motion Picture Purposes.” The prop cash is available online through both Amazon, Walmart and Temu, an internet search reveals.

The suspect in that case, according to the post, was an older (estimated to be in his mid-60s or older) black male with wide-framed silver glasses, accompanied by another male estimated to be in his early 30s.

Police said Monday that case had not been reported.

The RO has been told of two other recent counterfeit cases in Rockingham, but those incidents have not yet been verified.

The last counterfeit case reported to the Hamlet Police Department involved a fake $10 bill being passed at Piggly Wiggly on Jan. 25, according to Maj. Hudson Chitwood.

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office has had no recent counterfeit reports, according to Chief Deputy Jay Childers.

Counterfeit cases are investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.

If caught, suspects could be charged with obtaining property by false pretenses, criminal use of a counterfeit trademark and conspiracy to obtain property by false pretenses.

In addition to the funny money, another local business has had issues with foreign currency.

Petal Pushers Greenhouse, between Rockingham and Ellerbe, posted to Facebook earlier this month that someone had left a $100 bill — from Jamaica. According to an online currency conversion calculator, that equates to $0.64.

Businesses receiving counterfeit cash are encouraged to report the incidents to law enforcement.