Grace Cochran, the manager of Fort Bragg’s Paul Bunyan Thrift Store, wants the community to know that over the last two days there have been two separate occasions of customers using counterfeit bills at her business.
On Friday, September 2, 2022, a man came in and attempted to pass a $20 bill. Cochran told us the cashier refused the bill and the man actually said he was “aware that the bill was fake and joked about it when the cashier refused it.”
Yesterday, Saturday, September 3, a counterfeit $10 bill was accepted by the cashier who didn’t notice the bill was fake. A customer discovered the problem when they were provided it as part of their change.
Cochran said she has since worked with the cashier to be better at spotting counterfeit currency and to always contact a supervisor if a customer pays with counterfeit currency.
Fort Bragg Police Department Captain Thomas O’Neil told us law enforcement is aware of the counterfeit currency and investigating the circumstances.
If any local business owner or resident comes into contact with what they suspect is a counterfeit bill, reach out to the Fort Bragg Police Department at (707) 961-2800.
This would be a good time to tell us what to do when we receive a counterfeit bill. The business and the costumer have legal protocols to follow.
“Joked” about using the fake bill, Real funny as it is a felony to pass the fake bill and he clearly knew it was fake so slam dunk in court proving he was doing it willingly. Costs everyone time and money, not in the least funny.