Rogue Walmart Register Spits Out $20s (Video)

WINTER HAVEN, FL — A trip to Walmart generally leaves folks just a little lighter in the wallet. That wasn’t the case for a group of people in Winter Haven a few days ago, according to police. Authorities say a self-checkout register went “rogue,” spitting out $20s instead of $5 bills to the tune of more than a $1,000 loss to the store.

The problem, according to Winter Haven Police, is that the group of shoppers recognized the error and then chose to game the system.

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“Finding this obvious windfall, honest people would immediately alert the sales associate to the error – but not this group,” the police department said in an email. “They all start(ed) lining up to pay for one small item each in order to receive change that should include a $5, knowing they would instead receive a $20 bill. This continued on for, not five minutes or even 10 minutes, but more than 20 minutes."

Now, police say they want to change the group's luck. They're asking residents who can identify members of the group to contact them.

The unusual incident began around 12:34 a.m. April 22 at the 355 Cypress Gardens Blvd. Walmart store, police say. The first person to discover the money-stocking error was an adult male who scanned and paid for two items, the email said. Store surveillance shows him walking away and then returning to another man in the group who was ringing up a single item, police said.

“They appear to compare the bills and obviously see that the change was given back was incorrect,” the email added.

After discovering the error and conducting an audit, police say store officials told them the group walked out $1,100 ahead of the game.

The group of people, police say, appear to be from the same family or perhaps close friends. All told there were eight people in the group, including two young boys and a teenage girl. Anyone who recognizes the adults in the photos or video is asked to contact Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS. Callers may remain anonymous and might be eligible for a cash reward.

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Photos and video courtesy of the Winter Haven Police Department