Wachovia Gave Counterfeit Bills, Couple Says

Ever wonder what banks do with those counterfit notes the get ? ( maybe save them for a rainy day ) http://www.local6.com/new... But weeks later, Wachovia did refund $40 to another customer with a similar story, Local 6 has learned. ORLANDO, Fla. -- A couple has contacted the Secret Service claiming a Central Florida bank gave them 10 counterfeit bills during a transaction. Ulises Garcia said he was withdrawing cash from a Wachovia Bank and depositing it into a Bank of America so he could pay his bills online.

However, the Bank of America teller noticed something funny about 10 of the 36 $100 bills Garcia said he received from Wachovia Bank -- they were counterfeit, Local 6's Tony Pipitone reported.

However, the bank has not given Garcia or his fiancé, Joann Rodriguez, any money.

"We have big plans," Rodriguez said. "We were planning to get married in about two or three months."

"And this money's pretty important?" Pipitone asked.

"Very important," Rodrguez said. "It's a big part of our wedding."

"It is really frustrating for us," Garcia said. "The bank is not doing anything about it. (It's) just not giving us any solutions at all."

A Wachovia representative said it will not refund any money because it can't verify the $1,000 in counterfeit notes were the same bills Garcia was handed by their teller.

But weeks later, Wachovia did refund $40 to another customer with a similar story, Local 6 has learned.

Garcia said Wachovia is ripping him off and has alerted the sheriff's office, the Secret Service and the media.

"Ten (bills) in one transaction to come from one bank, that is definitely unusual," U.S. Secret Service representative Jim Glendinning said.

"But is it possible?" Pipitone asked.

"Remotely, yes it is," Glendinning said.

Glendinning said he was not surprised the Bank of America caught the counterfeits but wondered how a Wachovia could pass the bills unless a bank employee was in on it, Pipitone reported.