Homeless man jailed for three months after trying to pay Burger King with $10 bill files suit

[sl8]

From https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/homeless-man-jailed-three-months-after-trying-pay-burger-king-n875346

Homeless man jailed for three months after trying to pay Burger King with $10 bill files suit

"A person like me would've gotten an apology, but a person like Emory somehow finds his way in handcuffs for trying to pay for his breakfast with real money," said lawyer Justin Drechsler, who's white.

by Associated Press / May.18.2018 / 9:46 AM ET / Updated 9:53 AM ET


Emory Ellis was arrested in 2015 after he tried to buy breakfast at Burger King using a $10 bill that the cashier thought was fake.
Steven Senne / AP

BOSTON — Emory Ellis, a black homeless man in Boston, was hungry so he went to Burger King one morning in 2015. But instead of breakfast, Ellis got a ride to the police station and more than three months in jail after he was wrongfully accused of using counterfeit cash, he says.

Now Ellis is suing the fast food giant and franchisee for nearly $1 million, saying he was discriminated against because of his appearance. The lawsuit comes on the heels of recent cases of police being called on black people that have sparked uproar and claims of racial profiling.

Ellis' attorney said the cashier likely wouldn't have questioned if the money was real if a white man in a suit handed him the same bill. Even if he did, the cashier probably would have apologized and said he couldn't accept the cash instead of calling police, attorney Justin Drechsler said.

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More at link.

[PoliticAverse]

1. Hope his lawyer is good. n/t

[Stuart G]

2. Hope the lawyer gets the million from...Burger King..which will settle..

I wonder how quick the settlement will be made?

[DrDan]

18. never mind - just read that the 10 was real

[Ilsa]

3. How would a homeless man be able to counterfeit money?

Producing bogus cash is no easy task. The call to police was to get rid of him. Period.

[Honeycombe8]

13. It's illegal to try to counterfeit $, if you know it's counterfeit. Not just make it.

We have a rash of counterfeit $10 & $20 bills in my area going around. I have a $20 bill but am scared to use it, because if it's counterfeit, I could be arrested. I think I'll take it to my bank to see if they can verify it. I got it from their ATM machine, so I hope that means it's good.

They tried to arrest somewhere here at WalMart recently. Someone cashed a check at Customer Service, then took that money and bought something in WalMart. One of those bills was counterfeit. The cashier spotted it right away. Security took the person to the office...I think they were arrested but not sure. Even though he'd just cashed a check. Clearly the guy had gotten the bill from WalMart itself. I don't know what happened with that.

[Ilsa]

17. Looks like Walmart didn't want to take the hit

when they first found the fake $20. So they put it back in circulation to pass off to someone cashing a check. They didntthink they would get it back again.

[Honeycombe8]

19. You think? Hadn't thought of that....Imagine getting arrested for ...

passing back to the store the bill that IT just gave YOU!

[Dave Starsky]

20. My wife and I got a counterfeit 20 from an ATM once.

We've been checking them ever since.

[Honeycombe8]

21. OMG. I have a $20 bill that I'm afraid to spend.

There is a rash of $10 & $20 counterfeit bills going around in the area. I got mine from an ATM over a month ago, but I've been afraid to spend it.

I looked at it & compared it to some things to look for, re counterfeit (found that on internet). It doesn't seem to be counterfeit.

Thought I'd take it to bank I got it from, and see if they can tell. I don't want to get arrested! They will not believe you, if you pass a counterfeit bill. Everyone will of course say they didn't know.

Did you try to use your $20 bill, and they caught it? Or did you catch it?

[Dave Starsky]

23. We tried to use it at a McDonald's, and the clerk called it to our attention.

Thankfully, we were long-time customers who were well known to them and knew that we weren't criminals. But can you imagine what would have happened if we'd tried to use it at someplace that didn't know us?

We took it to our local bank branch and told them what happened. They replaced it and, I assume, called the cops. I think you would be safe with doing the same, assuming you've been a customer of theirs for a while.

[Honeycombe8]

24. Haven't been customer of theirs for long. Maybe a year. Just moved here.

But I'm an older female, homeowner in the area, high credit score, retired...no reason to think I'd need to pass counterfeit bills. And I can provide the date I used the ATM, though it was a couple of mos. ago.

[Dave Starsky]

25. Just take it into them and ask if they can check it for you.

If you were really a counterfeiter, why would you call it to their attention?

Plus, like you said, there's an excellent chance it's real.

FWIW, you can get one of those counterfeit checking pens at your neighborhood office supply store for about five bucks. If you've got a rash of counterfeiting going on in your area, it might not be a bad investment.

[Honeycombe8]

26. Thanks. nt

[ProudLib72]

16. I found a counterfeit $50 bill in the grass a couple months ago

I thought it was real until I started doing some sleuthing online. Plus, from the way it had been folded like it was in a wallet, I'm pretty sure it had been in circulation.

Search for "Chinese practice notes". Several cities around the country have trouble with them.

[csziggy]

4. Why did it take over two months to figure out the bill was real?

They make pens that many cashiers use to test suspect bills - why wasn't one of those used?

[Demovictory9]

5. Wtf indeed

[dawg]

6. Could've been an old bill.

The pens don't work on them.

I know, because my grandmother gave me one once and it failed the pen test. But it wasn't fake. It was just really, really old.

[csziggy]

8. That still does not explain the two months

From the article linked in the OP:

Ellis was arrested in November 2015 and charged with forgery of a bank note. His arrest triggered a probation violation and he was held without bail until his final probation violation hearing, according to the lawsuit.

He wasn't released from jail until February 2016, when prosecutors dropped the forgery charge after the Secret Service concluded Ellis' bill was real, the lawsuit says.

Ellis, 37, never got his money back, the lawsuit says.

Even if the bill was old and a counterfeit pen (if used at all) didn't pass it, why would it take MONTHS for the Secret Service to determine if it were real? I suspect the probably answer was that no one cared if a homeless black man sat in jail on a bogus charge.

[dawg]

9. "... no one cared..."

That's probably your answer right there.

[Crunchy Frog]

7. Would it help to boycott Burger King until this is settled?

[csziggy]

10. Can't do it - been boycotting Burger King for over forty years

Since their "Have it your Way" days. I'd go through the drive through and order a bacon cheese burger, no pickles and get pickles. Each time I got more pickles. The last time I ever went to Burger King I got more pickles by weight than hamburger. I've never been back.

[Crunchy Frog]

11. Well, I do buy at BK from time to time,

Though I've learned to thoroughly check my orders before leaving the drivethrough window.

So I guess I was asking more on behalf of people like myself who actually patronize the place.

[Honeycombe8]

14. It's not the cashier's fault, IMO. She is supposed to report possible counterfeit $$$.

There's a rash of counterfeit bills going around in my area. All cashiers are on the lookout for the bills.

The police are supposed to find someone to verify whether it's counterfeit. It's not that hard to do, for people who know how to do it. Like maybe a bank officer, or someone in law enforcement. How it could take 3 months to discover they were wrong I think means they didn't bother to verify it. OMG. Horrible. But at least they fessed up and didn't frame him, like some P.D.s probably would do.

[Crunchy Frog]

15. It looks like it's BK that he's actually suing.

Presumably based on likely racial profiling.

There was no justification for them calling the police.

[JustAnotherGen]

12. Good!

[oberliner]

22. He's going to be a very rich man