A restaurant in Missouri took matters into its own hands by sharing the image of a man who defrauded them on social media, after he paid for his meal with a counterfeit bill.
According to a report, the customer ordered a hamburger and sides from Michael’s Bar and Grill in Manchester, located about 32 miles from St. Louis. He presented a $100 bill for a $40 meal, which, as it turned out, was actually a phony $1,000 bill.
The employee realized the bill was fake while trying to give change, but by the time she retraced her steps, the man had already left with his to-go order and drove away in a Lexus.
The deceptive bills were later identified as “ancestral money,” a type of symbolic currency used in Chinese traditions and burned during rituals for the deceased to enjoy in the afterlife.
Staff members at the 46-year-old establishment have expressed frustration over a recent uptick in similar incidents.
“This has been happening way too often lately,” server Christina Moriarty noted. “We’ve got cameras, license plate readers, facial recognition, but still, small businesses in the area are facing these challenges, so we had to up our game.”
Realizing a proactive approach was necessary, the restaurant began sharing images of the dine-and-dash perpetrators on its Facebook page, hoping to dissuade future thefts.
“Here’s the deal: If you pull something like this, we’re going to put you on blast,” bartender Dawn Lamb stated. “It’s about preventing this from happening again.”
The strategy seems to have worked, as the man who had used the counterfeit bill returned the following day, embarrassed. He not only paid his bill but also expressed regret and left a tip for the server.
