Shopper Nabbed With Plastic Bag Of Fake Money: Police

ORLAND PARK, IL -- An Evergreen Park man is accused of spreading fake money around Orland Square Mall during the holidays, according to an Orland Park police report. Omar Bey, 25, is facing charges of felony and possession of a fraudulent driver’s license. Bey is also under investigation for possible involvement in an identity theft in Merrionette Park and Lansing.

According to police, the manager of American Eagle Outfitters, 714 Orland Square, was called by another employee to verify a one-hundred bill for the purchase of $124.51 worth of merchandise. The manager said she looked at the bill and held it up to light. The bill did not have a security strip and “felt weird to the touch,” the report said. The bill also appeared different from other authentic bills inside the cash register. The manager asked the customer, later identified as Bey, if he had any other cash to pay for the purchase, the report said. She suspended the transaction and gave the bill back to Bey. She told him that the one-hundred dollar bill appeared fraudulent and Bey told her he would come back. Bey left the store and was reportedly seen walking into Champs. The manager called Orland Park police.

When officers arrived they saw a man matching Bey’s description entering the fitting rooms at Champs. Police approached Bey and walked him out of the store. The manager from American Eagle Outfitters was able to identify him as the man who allegedly tried to pay for apparel using counterfeit money. Police said that officers searched Bey where they found a plastic bag of money filled with a large number of fifty- and one-hundred dollar bills. Officers also found a driver’s license with Bey’s face but with a different name, reports said. The license appeared to have been torn and then peeled back to remove the hologram. Bey was taken into custody and brought to the Orland Park police station.

Another officer interviewed the cashier at American Eagle Outfitters, who explained Bey was buying various items of clothing. He pulled out a plastic bag of filled with money and handed her a one-hundred dollar bill, the report said. The cashier called her manager over to examine the bill because it didn’t look or feel right. Police said the cashier also found it suspicious that the customer carried such a large amount of cash in a plastic bag. Officers viewed the store’s security video which they said showed Bey checking out at the register as well as pulling out his plastic bag of money.

Bey did not wish to speak to speak to police. According to the report, the U.S Secret Service confirmed that all the fifty and one-hundred dollar bills recovered from Bey’s backpack were counterfeit. Many of the bills shared the same serial number, police said.

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