Philadelphia store owner warning others after receiving fake $20 bills

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The owner of a 7-Eleven in South Philadelphia has issued a warning after receiving more than $300 worth of fake $20 bills.

"Those bills look better than the new ones, the real ones," said Vincent Emmanuel, the spokesperson for the Franchise Owners Association.

The store at the corner of 23rd Street and East Passyunk Avenue was targeted just after midnight on April 3. Surveillance video showed a man walk into the store with an envelope full of bills that he wanted to deposit into his Cash App account.

In the first transaction, the man handed over five fake $20 bills. The cashier took the money, deposited it into the Cash App account, and the suspect left.

Three minutes later, the suspect returned to the store and deposited the rest of the money that was in the envelope before leaving. When the cashier realized what had happened, the store was out $320.

"People who try to rob us for that kind of stuff, they need to stop it," said Emmanuel. "Do something useful to the society rather than coming to beat the poor 7-11 owner."

Police took a report and the fake money as part of the investigation.

Emmanuel is concerned that other stores could be hit because the counterfeit bills were very realistic.