JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police in the Mandarin area are trying to find a man they believe has used counterfeit bills to pay for food at two local restaurants, possibly stealing hundreds of dollars from the businesses.
It's nothing out of the ordinary for a customer to enter a restaurant like Enzas for some fine dining, but two weeks ago it was what a customer ordered and how he paid the tab that has the restaurant encouraging other business owners to be on high alert.
"He ordered a large Caesar, with light tomatoes, the dressing on the side and ranch. None of it really made sense and he was really specific about it so I was like, right man, whatever," server Justin Santos said.
After Santos took the man's order, he said the customer gave him a $100 bill. Santos gave him change and the man went outside to smoke a cigarette.
"I kind of looked around and poked my head outside and I didn't see him, so at that point I realized he probably wasn't coming back for the salad," Santos said.
And that's what Santos told the owner, Michael Huff.
"He said, "Something's fishy here. He bought a salad and a $100 bill, he got his money he never came back for a salad," he said, "I don't think this $100 bill is real." I said, "Did you check it?" He said, No I didn't do it, I wasn't thinking," and sure enough he got us," Huff said.
The restaurant notified police and didn't think they'd ever see the man again, but the man came back again.
"The most amazing thing is that he came back two weeks later and tried to do it again," Huff said.
This time they caught the man on surveillance camera and Huff said you can see the man come into the restaurant, order another salad and pay with another counterfeit bill.
"My manager was on top of it and saw the bill and noticed it wasn't right, and he came right to me and we called JSO instantly. And he just took off without his money or his salad," Huff said.
The man realized the restaurant was catching on and took off. Now, it's hoping the man is caught, before he tries to jeopardize another business.
According to a police report, the man also hit a Bob Evans near Enza's and several other businesses on San Jose Boulevard trying to do the same thing.
For small businesses like Enzas, counterfeit bills can have a major impact.
"Negative cash flow is not good for business if you want to make money, so you have to be on top of your game. Even $20 bills and $50 bills, you just have to be on top (of) your game. A $2 salad with a $100 bill. Instantly that's a red flag," Huff said.
News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said there are some ways to figure out if someone is trying to pass a counterfeit bill. He said pay close attention to the quality of printing and paper characteristics. Look for differences, not similarities.
He also said if you're a restaurant or business, use a UV light that can help spot even a good counterfeit bill.
The Secret Service also has a list of ways that businesses and consumers can protect themselves from crooks trying to pass phony money: secretservice.gov/money_detect.shtml.
If you have any information on the man seen in the surveillance picture, above, you're asked to call crime stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.