A man in Bradenton, Florida may be giving away counterfeit money using the moniker "Black Jesus."
Diners in a Long John Silvers restaurant tried to pay for their meal using the fake funds, and police were called. They alleged the fraud was perpetrated by a man calling himself "Black Jesus."
The diners allegedly received a counterfeit bill as a "Christmas gift" from the otherwise anonymous stranger, and attempted to use it on January 1. Their server seized the bill and called the police, with Deputy Sinclair Cason responding around 9:15pm.
According to the police report, the diners were "cooperative and were unaware of the authenticity of the currency." No information on how or where they received the money was provided. There was also no description of the man known as "Black Jesus."
Deputy Cason booked the counterfeit bill into evidence.
The incident may be a knock-off of the "Tips for Jesus" mystery diner, who provides large tips to unsuspecting bartenders and waitstaff.
Earlier this month, the anonymous donor gave a record $11,000 to a bartender in Phoenix on a $421 tab. The bartender also demonstrated generosity by splitting the huge tips with another bartender and the kitchen staff.
"It's unreal," Clint Spotleson said of the timely gift. "I'm up and I'm going to the bank now. It's crazy, absolutely crazy. And it's cool too, because I've been having some car issues."
Tips for Jesus generally leaves anywhere from a $500 to $10,000 tip on his restaurant bills, no matter how small the total is. He sometimes rubberstamps the receipt with "#tipsforJesus," or a thumbs-up and "Tips for Jesus" message.
Although the signature on the receipts vary, the user generally presents an American Express credit card. The donor's home base appears to be in the San Francisco area, and some servers and media outlets have identified him as former Paypal executive Jack Selby.
