The million dollar bank non-heist

Gail Perry, CPA, Managing Editor [1]

By Gail Perry, CPA - This week a man entered a bank in South Carolina and tried to open a bank account [2] with a $1 million dollar bill. The astute teller realized quickly that there is no such thing as a $1 million dollar bill, at least not in the United States, and phoned the police. Now this poor sot is faced with legal action for passing counterfeit money. Was anyone harmed in this action? I think not. Surely our legal system has better things to do than spend time apprehending and arresting someone for being so ignorant that he thought he could get away with such a scam. Okay, there was the matter of his charge of disorderly conduct due to the fact that he got surly with the bank employees. And there was that bad check he passed while trying to purchase cigarettes at a nearby retail establishment. But the newsworthy item is about the million dollars - were that his only crime, I would firmly support giving the man a gentle pat on the head and sending him on his way.
Gail Perry, Managing Editor