Students from east Sydney private school Scots College accused of using counterfeit cash at store
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Students at a $40,000-a-year elite private school have reportedly been caught using counterfeit $50 bills to defraud a news agency
- Scots College students allegedly used fake money at a local newspaper office
- Jim Cho of Double Bay Newsagency said the students traded two fake $50s
- He claims the same group came back to the store on Tuesday with the same stunt
- Mr. Cho reported the students to the police and shared their photos with other shops
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Students at an elite school in one of Australia’s most expensive suburbs are said to have been caught using fake money to get $100 from a small business owner.
Jim Cho, store manager of Double Bay Newsagency, claims that a couple of students from Scots College in Bellevue Hill, eastern Sydney, entered his store last Sunday and asked to exchange four $50 notes for two $100 bills.
However, he claims that two of those $50 bills were fake.
Mr. Cho said his son was working at the cash register at the time and did not notice the counterfeit currency and handed over $200 to the student.
Double Bay Newsagency store manager Jim Cho claims Scots College students gave him fake money
It wasn’t until Mr. Cho checked the cash register that he noticed that two $50 bills were much shorter than the other — with the news agency losing $100 to the students.
He claims the same group came in on Tuesday and tried to pull the same stunt again.
“This time it was very unprofessional and too obvious. I couldn’t believe they were coming back,” he told the Daily Telegram.
“Yesterday I printed out warnings to give to most (surrounding) stores and some stores said they recognized them.”
Mr. Cho said he betrayed the boy because he allegedly tried to pull the same trick again, but the student began to cry.
“We had a very nice customer who asked if we could leave the child alone… What can you do?” he said.
Mr. Cho claims his son was given two counterfeit $50 bills in addition to two real ones that were exchanged for two $100 bills from his cash register (pictured, the students and Mr. Cho’s son)
Mr. Cho gave surrounding businesses a flyer (above) showing the students who allegedly gave him fake money on Sunday
Frustrated and determined to warn his neighbors about the alleged fakes, Mr. Cho uploaded his security footage of the boys to YouTube and began distributing their photos around town.
He said a teacher from the prestigious school, which charges tuition of up to $40,000 a year, visited his shop on Wednesday to calmly resolve the situation.
But despite the teacher’s best efforts, Mr. Cho decided to report the students to the police.
Ian Lambert, principal of Scots College, said the school is working with investigators and will enforce “appropriate disciplinary action.”
“The college is cooperating with the NSW Police Department and will continue to guide the student and work with his parents until the incident is fully resolved,” he said.
“The College takes the situation very seriously and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken once all the facts have been established.”
The school confirmed that the owner had been fully reimbursed.
Scots College confirmed owner was fully refunded