Taco Bell Scam: Workers Forced To Hand Counterfeit $20 Bills As Change To Customers
A Taco Bell scam was discovered after an employee blew the whistle on her managers for giving her a set condition if she wanted to keep her job. Two of the national chain’s restaurants in Manhattan are facing a class-action lawsuit for their ridiculous plan in ripping off customers. AOL Money reports that managers forced an employee to hand out bogus $20 bills as change.
A 17-year-old worker, identified only as “J.A.,” was informed by management that she had accidentally accepted two of the fake bills from a customer. They gave her one of two options; she could pay the amount back out of her own pocket or give them to customers as change. The girl went along with their demands for two weeks.
The worker’s mother, Annette Cirino, hired attorney, Richard Garbarini. He explains to the New York Post that the fake bills were “terrible,” and were likely printed on laser-jet printer then put through a dryer for “texture.” Taco Bell managers lifted their “no large bills” policy and began accepting $50 and $100 bills so counterfeit $20 bills would be handed back as change.
“The girl has been quite distraught since this happened,” Garbarini says.
The lawsuit is demanding at least $5 million in real money damages.
When J.A. decided to quit because of the Taco Bell scam, she was reportedly called into a meeting where four supervisors posed as undercover NYPD officers. They supposedly told her she would be arrested unless she went on giving customers fake bills. What the supervisors didn’t realize was that J.A. was recording the whole meeting. “Fearing for her freedom and safety,” the girl took the audio to “real” police. She also took with her the counterfeit laser-printed money.
According to court documents, “A kind sergeant spent 30 minutes listening…and repeatedly reassured her she was never going to be arrested, and there were no undercover cops in the Taco Bell.”
No arrests have been made yet and police aren’t revealing if they’re investigating the Taco Bell scam.
This was a risky scam that the Taco Bell managers involved themselves in. They depended on an innocent teenager to keep quiet about their dishonest business tactics and it didn’t work. J.A. knew what management was up to was wrong and she wasn’t going to stand for it any longer. As a young person working, it can be scary going against managers’ wishes. This worker was smart enough to know the Taco Bell scam was a pretty low thing to do and she ended up doing the right thing.
[Image via Playstation]
