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Police in Everett, Washington are hoping that the public can help them track down a man who paid at a lemonade stand with a counterfeit $100 bill. Thankfully, the internet has rallied around the 11-year-old who got scammed.
The young boy named Jeremy is an entrepreneur, running multiple businesses. One of them was a lemonade and snack stand where a man bought $20 worth of snacks and drink.
He asked Jeremy to break the $100 bill for the purchase.
\u201cEverett PD are trying to find the man accused of scamming a 12 year old running a lemonade stand by giving him a fake 100 dollar bill. I caught up with Jeremy today, who's quite the young entrepreneur and now has the community rallying around him @KING5Seattle\u201d— Julie Calhoun (@Julie Calhoun) 1659769015
Jeremy used all the money he had that day to provide change for the purchase. The man, having his snacks, drinks, and change left.
After the interaction, Jeremy inspected the bill and noticed it looked funny. He took it to a nearby gas station to have it confirmed, but the employee said what Jeremy already expected.
The bill was a forgery.
The gas station attendant called the police and reported everything that happened.
\u201c@OrwellNGoode A grown man stealing from a child. His mum must be so proud\u201d— Orwell & Goode (@Orwell & Goode) 1659988576
\u201c@wsbtv What a jerk.\u201d— WSB-TV (@WSB-TV) 1659758421
\u201c@washingtonpost How low can you go? Really? Preying & then ripping off an 11-year old = 'low budget person' a very 'small person'.\u201d— The Washington Post (@The Washington Post) 1660153061
\u201cWhat kind of loser uses a counterfeit $100 bill to scam an 11 yr old with a lemonade stand?\nhttps://t.co/pthvaTVzO9\u201d— Greg Buster (@Greg Buster) 1659963658
\u201c@JulieCalhounTV @madisoncwade @KING5Seattle Stories like this make me wish evil things people like this. Hope this bum truly gets what he deserves.\u201d— Julie Calhoun (@Julie Calhoun) 1659769015
Despite losing most of his money, Jeremy hasn’t let it slow him down. He was back out selling at his wares the next day.
After hearing about what happened to the now 12-year-old, a neighbor worked to help out Jeremy. Amy Steenfott started a GoFundMe to raise $250 for the boy.
She hoped to get enough to replace the money Jeremy lost, as well as some extra for the young business owner to expand his enterprise. As of the time of writing, the fund has raised over $25,000 dollars.
An impressive change of fate for the young boy.
\u201c@wsbtv Where's the go fund me account? Let's do right by this 11 year old.\u201d— WSB-TV (@WSB-TV) 1659758421
\u201c@OrwellNGoode Ok, I need a PO Box for this kid. I\u2019ll send him $100. That\u2019s just pathetic.\u201d— Orwell & Goode (@Orwell & Goode) 1659988576
\u201c@washingtonpost His stand was more than a lemonade stand it was a full blown front lawn snack stand. He was doing good business and had change for a hundred. I'm doubtful it's a GoFundMe scam.\u201d— The Washington Post (@The Washington Post) 1660153061
\u201c$24K raised for boy who was given fake $100 bill at lemonade stand \u2013\u00a0National https://t.co/qktmaOqLyo\u201d— Satoshi (@Satoshi) 1660129270
\u201cPeople rally around 12-year-old boy who was paid with a fake\n$100 bill at his lemonade stand \nhttps://t.co/Osgr7rrD2T\u201d— TexasDem (@TexasDem) 1660114983
\u201c@wsbtv The Go Fund Me is at over 6K! I hate that he was taken advantage of but there\u2019s still good people out there.\u201d— WSB-TV (@WSB-TV) 1659787209
Jeremy said he’d been using his profits to both expand his business and donate money to Ukraine. Hopefully the funds from the GoFundMe help in that endeavor.
In the meantime, Everett Police are looking for information about the alleged thief. They are investigating tips and looking for anyone who recognizes the man.