This article was originally published in The Examiner on Feb. 23, 2017.
By Eleanor Skelton
Staff Writer
Beaumont Police received six reports from businesses this week about some customers attempting to make purchases using “movie money,” or cinematic prop money, all using $100 bills, Officer Haley Morrow said.
Possession of prop money is not a crime, since it is clearly labeled “for movie use only,” Morrow said.
However, once someone tries to use the prop money as real cash, “it would be considered forgery, which is a third-degree felony,” she said.
“Movie money” can be bought online on websites like Etsy for novelty purposes, similar to Monopoly money or toy money.
Morrow explained that the legality of selling prop money is “a question for the DA’s office, but we’re pretty sure that it falls under [novelty items].”
“Whenever the person goes to a store and tries to pass it off as real money, that’s where the offense is occurring,” she said.
Six cases in one week is a “high volume,” Morrow said.
Beaumont Police are taking steps to make sure that the community is informed, including giving patrol officers informational brochures to give out to businesses.
“We want to encourage them to definitely check the money,” she said. “It’s easy to spot.”
Morrow pointed out several differences between cinematic money and actual money. The prop money is missing “The United States of America” statement that is on real $100 bills, and the Liberty Bell does not change fro gold to green when tilted under light.
“You just have to know what to look for,” she said.
Anyone who does encounter someone trying to pass off the fake money as real money should call the Beaumont Police Department and report it.
“We’d like to catch the people who are doing it,” Morrow said. “Call us, give a good description of the person that’s bringing it in, and if they’re in a vehicle, that license plate number and description of the vehicle [is] crucial.
“That’s going to help our detectives narrow down if this is just one person or a particular group of people [and] how big this problem is,” she said.
Most of the clerks recognized the fakes, but the perpetrators ran off before police could be called, Morrow said, but in at least one instance, the business accepted the money.
“That’s an actual case,” she said. The others are a “gray area that we will have to figure out with the DA’s office.”
Eleanor Skelton 