An Arby’s at the Pilot Travel Center in Ocala received counterfeit money when a customer made a purchase Sunday afternoon.
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy responded to the Pilot Travel Center located at 4032 W Hwy. 326 at around 5 p.m. in reference to counterfeit money received from a customer, according to an MCSO incident report. Upon arrival, the officer made contact with the customer who used the counterfeit money to make a purchase, the report stated. The customer advised the officer that she was unaware that the $20 bill was counterfeit and that she had received it from a transaction at a Travel Lodge motel located in Macclenny. The store’s employee had completed the transaction with the customer and informed her that the bill was counterfeit, which she then paid for her merchandise with a real $20 bill.
The deputy then made contact with the store manager, who reported the counterfeit money, and received the fake $20 bill that had been marked with a counterfeit identification marker from the manager. The officer examined the $20 bill and did not observe the vertical security strip with the bill’s denomination. The $20 bill was placed into evidence.