Fake Money At Orland Square Denny's Leads To Felony Arrests: COPS

ORLAND PARK, IL -- Three people were charged with forgery after they were linked to counterfeit twenty-dollar bills passed at an Orland Park Denny’s, reports said. Xavier McCants, 26, of Aurora, Colo., Mariah Tidd, 22, of Tinley Park, and Anthony Porter, 26, of Chicago, were each charged with one felony count of forgery. Porter was always also charged with traffic violations.

Orland Park police responded to a report of funny money at Denny’s, 20 Orland Square, around 6 p.m. Oct. 25. Employees there had received a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill, police said. The alleged paper-passers were later identified as Tidd and and McCants.

Employees told police that Tidd entered the restaurant and requested a pop to go. She paid $20 for the pop that cost $2.38, police said. The employee took the bill and placed in the drawer, giving Tidd $17.62 in change. Tidd left the restaurant.

A minute later, police said McCants went into the restaurant and also ordered a pop to go. This time, the manager was near the cash register and spoke to McCants while another employee handled the transaction, according to the report. The manager felt the money and held it to the light. He noticed it didn’t have the security strip identifying it as authentic. The employee told McCants the money was fake and handed it back to him, police said. McCants then offered to pay for the drink with a credit card, but employees alleged that he only pretended to swipe his card. Finally, Denny’s employees told McCants to just take the pop for free, reports said.

The manager stood by watching what took place between McCants and his employee, police said. He grew suspicious due the same exact scenario that had allegedly taken place a few minutes before with Tidd. Denny’s employees returned to the cash drawer and held the twenty dollar bill to the light. They noticed it did not a security stripe, nor did it have the same consistency as the other bills in the register and called police.

Orland Park officers took custody of the phony twenty. Another officer stopped a car later in shift in which the driver, identified as Porter, was driving on a suspended license, reports said. Officers stated that the car also smelled like burnt cannabis. During officers’ search of the car and its occupants, police noted that McCants and Tidd were in possession of seven twenty-dollar bills, police said. McCants showed police his Colorado ID. There were also two Denny’s cups in the car, reports said.

McCants and Tidd matched the descriptions provided by Denny’s employees of the male and female who had earlier tried to pass fake money, reports said. Police said they also found a glass pipe inside Tidd’s backpack and two Denny’s soft drink cups in the cup holders.

The three were taken to the Orland Park police station. Tidd allegedly admitted to trying to pass the fake twenties at Denny’s. Police said Tidd told them she got the counterfeit money somewhere on Cottage Grove in Chicago. Each bill was identified as fraudulent with a special marker. The bills were also inspected by the U.S. Secret Service who identified them as counterfeit, reports said. Tidd and McCants were also identified by Denny's employees in a photo array and video of the transaction was recovered from the restaurant, police said.

McCants and Tidd were charged with forgery. Porter was also charged with forgery and driving on a suspended license. The three appeared in bond court in Bridgeview the next day.