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OREM — In the past week, a Utah man has purchased a computer and a four-wheeler using counterfeit cash — and those are the deals police know about.
Tylor Paul was released from the jail on April 12. But it wasn't long until he was up to his old tricks, using fake money to buy items listed for sale on the KSL Classifieds in Orem and Richfield.
When Jordan Eyre posted an ad for his laptop computer on ksl.com, he says Paul wanted to buy it and pay in cash.
"I flipped through the money, and it all looked legit. The 50s looked a little worn, a little used," Eyre said. "We did our transaction, handed over the money, and he left with the computer."
But when Eyre took the $350 in cash to the bank there was a big problem.
"They did all their tests, trying to figure out if the money was real or not, and my stomach dropped. I was really upset," Eyre said.
A few days before, Tylor Paul tried to buy a laptop from Nathan Johnson for $275 in cash. "He was taking forever. Something didn't seem right," Johnson said.
Johnson was suspicious of the cash and took it into a convenience store to borrow the clerk's counterfeit marker, and his hunch was right on. "All the bills were fake except for the five," he said.
The rest of the story is that Paul was arrested in early April for the same exact thing — buying items sold on the classifieds with counterfeit cash.
"Cash is always the best option, but you need to be aware. If the money doesn't look right and feel right, ask some questions," said Orem Police Sgt. Craig Martinez.
Eyre says he learned the hard way that cash isn't always cash.
"Look through the cash," he said. "Make sure you have the strip in it, it's got the watermark, and make sure you're not taking Monopoly money."
Paul was arrested Thursday afternoon in Mesquite, Nev. He will be extradited to face charges in Utah; and between charges in Salt Lake County, and now in Orem and Richfield, he may be locked up for a long time.
Email: spenrod@ksl.com
