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submitted 6 months ago by Stopthatgirl7@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

Donald Trump's former White House aide is under fire after a video showed him claiming to distribute fake money to homeless people so that they will be arrested when they spend it.

Johnny McEntee, formerly the White House Presidential Personnel Office under the former president, posted a video on TikTok in which he discusses the purported scheme to "clean up the community."

"So I always keep this fake Hollywood money in my car, so when a homeless person asks for money, and I give them like a $5 bill, I feel good about myself, they feel good," said McEntee, also a senior advisor to Project 2025. "And then when they go to use it, they get arrested, so I'm actually helping to clean up the community and get them off the street."

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[-] whereisk@lemmy.world 48 points 6 months ago

The whole thing stinks as schoolboy level revenge fantasy. I doubt there's truth to it.

Prop money has specific laws and guidelines and is very easily identifiable and therefore do not count as counterfeit.

If a $5 bill does find its way in the economy no one gets arrested probably, someone just made a stupid trade. Otherwise half the store owners would be in jail when attempting to deposit money that happens to contain a fake note here and there.

[-] michaelmrose@lemmy.world 57 points 6 months ago

Manufacturing prop money for movie purposes isn't illegal. Passing it as legal tender IS. Note that passing and creating are 2 separate crimes. Notably even though he is giving it away he has specifically stated that the aim of this scheme is for it to be used for commerce by unwitting victims.

[-] refalo@programming.dev 2 points 6 months ago

you're applying those terms to the wrong thing.

there's nothing inherently illegal with saying you're giving someone fake money so they'll get arrested.

and trying to use movie money also won't get anyone arrested.

[-] CertifiedBlackGuy@lemmy.world 23 points 6 months ago

Actually it is inherently illegal. It's fraud.

Because like the previous person said, they're attempting to pass it off as legal tender by getting the homeless person the money so they'll use it.

[-] refalo@programming.dev 1 points 6 months ago

that's not what passing it off means.

you have to actually try to use the money yourself, knowing it's fake, for there to be a crime in this situation.

[-] Liz@midwest.social 17 points 6 months ago

What part about giving a person $5 because they asked for it isn't using the money? They're asking for real money. You give them fake money, knowing it's fake. You don't tell them it's fake.

Imagine donating fake money to a charity. Same thing.

[-] refalo@programming.dev 2 points 6 months ago

it isn't using because you're not paying for goods or services

[-] Liz@midwest.social 4 points 6 months ago

Try it. Tell the secret service what you're doing and then record yourself donating fake currency that you're trying to pass off as real currency. Just keep tagging them until they tell you to stop because it's totally legal.

[-] CertifiedBlackGuy@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago

There's more to transactions than the purchase of goods and services.

Donating money is a transaction. Using counterfeit money to donate while claiming it is legal tender makea the donation fraudulent.

Crawl back under your bridge, mate.

[-] formergijoe@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I give them like a $5 bill, I feel good about myself...

Sounds like he's paying for something.

[-] ImADifferentBird 8 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Which is what he is doing when he gives it to the homeless person. Assuming we can take him at his word that he actually does this, of course, and with Trumpists, that's a big if.

[-] refalo@programming.dev 1 points 5 months ago

A difference of opinion on subjective semantics is not inherently "moving the goalposts" IMO.

[-] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 13 points 6 months ago

I got passed a fake $100 as a pizza delivery driver one time. Some secret service agents came to my store a few days later, and asked me about where I got it. They took the information I had, and continued their investigation to get to the person that made the thing. It was easy to tell them where I got it. That was the only $100 bill I had been handed in weeks.

this post was submitted on 13 May 2024
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