HONOLULU (KHON2) -- There's a troubling trend of "funny money" being used at local businesses. And business owners aren't laughing about it. This $100 bill is a Monet. Good from far, but far from good.
"This is a very good replica for movies," said Rene Dominguez, co-owner of Coffee Gallery. "It's not good for business."
The Coffee Gallery in Haleiwa is the unfortunate recipient of this prop movie money. They took it in as payment from a customer just before closing Monday evening. It was one of two fake bills taken in that day.
"We feel cheated," said Dominguez. "That's the first impression that you get angry. It's a disappointment that people tried to swindle small businesses."
It seems to be a growing issue. One small business in Honolulu sent KHON2 pictures of a prop $100 bill it took in. Another local business sent an image of a fake $20 they got.
In May, a Big Island man was arrested for washing a one-dollar bill and changing it to look like a $100.
"I got a warning one time when I was doing my bank deposit," said Marcie Brenegan-Gaylor, manager at Soho Living. "I have a good relationship with the folks at Bank of Hawaii, and they were just telling me to be on the lookout because that specific day they had taken in 5 or 6 different fake $100 bills."
"Counterfeit bills, it's always around," said Tina Yamaki, Retail Merchant of Hawaii. "There's always somebody trying to pass a bad bill. And, yeah, with printers getting so much better and AI, a lot more people are trying to slide bad bills by us."
"We do know how to check the difference between real money and fake money, but it's just very hard when it's rushed," said Carla Pascual of Coffee Gallery.
"Even though it does pass the pen check, we're just being more diligent to check the bills and you know, cuz it is a visual test at this point to see that it says federal reserve on there," said Brenegan-Gaylor.
"Alert your cashiers to the possibility that somebody is trying to swindle you," said Dominguez. "Look at the money that you receive. hold it up to the light. look for the watermark. look for the hologram."
"If you pass a bad bill, the retailer is the one who ends up eating the cost of it," said Yamaki. "They're not only out of that merchandise, but they're out of the paper money as well. So at the end of the day, it's the rest of us, honest consumers, who are going to pay the prices."
Using, creating or dealing with counterfeit money can be a state or federal crime. Maximum penalties: 20 years in prison with a fine of $250,000.