It’s not uncommon for customer-facing employees at stores and restaurants to test cash to ensure authenticity, usually with one of those weird little markers. Yet for one Boston man, one such investigation escalated beyond comprehension. In 2015, the staff at a Massachusetts Burger King decided that Emory Ellis was presenting a fake sawbuck for his breakfast; rather than simply deny him his Croissan’wich and send him on his way, the overzealous store employees called the cops on Ellis, who was homeless at the time.
The cops actually took Ellis away in handcuffs over ten bucks; a federal agency was then tapped to waste time and resources investigating the alleged fraud. Since the Home of the Whopper and the U.S. government were apparently fresh out of those weird little markers, the only option was to imprison Ellis—for months.
Ellis was arrested in November 2015 and charged with forgery of a bank note. His arrest triggered a probation violation and he was held without bail until his final probation violation hearing, according to the lawsuit.
He wasn’t released from jail until February 2016, when prosecutors dropped the forgery charge after the Secret Service concluded Ellis’ bill was real, the lawsuit says.
Ellis, now 37, filed a discrimination lawsuit this week.
Ellis’ lawsuit was filed this week in Suffolk Superior Court. He’s seeking $950,000.
Ellis’ attorney said the cashier likely wouldn’t have questioned if the money was real if a white man in a suit handed him the same bill. Even if he did, the cashier probably would have apologized and said he couldn’t accept the cash instead of calling police, attorney Justin Drechsler said.
“A person like me would’ve gotten an apology, but a person like Emory somehow finds his way in handcuffs for trying to pay for his breakfast with real money,” said Drechsler, who’s white.
Burger King declined to address the specifics of Ellis’s experience.
A Burger King Corp. spokesperson said the company does not tolerate discrimination “of any kind,” but cannot comment on the specifics of the case. The company said the franchisee is responsible for employee training and handling legal matters about the location.
To add insult to injury, the Secret Service never even gave Ellis his (totally real and definitely not counterfeit) cash back.