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Disabled veteran Rob Stevens of Millsboro cashed his U.S. Federal Reserve monthly disability check at a Millsboro bank shortly after 9 a.m., Dec. 1, and closed out his account there.
As Stevens later explained to police, he immediately took the slightly more than $2,000 - mostly in $50 bills - to the Sussex County Federal Credit Union on Route 1 in Lewes, where he wanted to open a new account.
When Stevens handed the money to the teller, who used a marker to check the $50 notes, Stevens’ world turned upside down. The teller told him the money was counterfeit.
His life savings were confiscated as evidence and a six-day investigation ensued. Stevens called the Cape Gazette, saying he was distraught and frustrated over losing all the money from his government check. He said he wanted justice done quickly. His holiday was suddenly ruined and Stevens said he was broke at the absolute worst time of year.
While state police detective Sgt. Doug Hudson investigated the case, Stevens placed calls to the state bank commissioner and to the FBI in Dover, asking them to help expedite the return of his money. Six days later, Hudson had checked all the currency notes’ serial numbers and key identifiers on each bill with agents of the U.S. Secret Service. He learned that the money was, in fact, good and legal tender.
Cpl. Jeff Oldham, state police spokesman, said the marker used by the credit union teller to test the money might have been defective. Counterfeit currency markers have been advertised on line since 1998 as highly effective - but not perfect – tools for detecting bad U.S. or universal currency. Shoppers who pay cash for their purchases at one time or another have experienced the uncertainty that comes as a cashier swipes a marker across their money. The pens are designed to make an amber mark on good currency and a dark brown or black mark on bills that are probably counterfeit. The pens are also designed to work on all new-design U.S. currency dating from 1959 to present. Marker manufacturers bill their products as simple to use and very reliable, with advisory footnotes that no method of counterfeit detection is perfect. Hudson called Stevens on Dec. 7 to notify the veteran he could pick up his money.
Stevens said after receiving the call that he was greatly relieved to learn state police had solved the case and were returning the stack of $50 bills he had tried to deposit at the credit union. “I’m thankful the state police did a good investigation,” a relieved Stevens said. “Thank goodness they resolved the case. It was tough being totally broke for nearly a week. All kinds of thoughts were going through my mind about that money.”
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