Can restaurants call cops on customers who leave fake &quot;Jesus money&quot; as tip?
<p>I've been reading that in the US there's a thing where certain kinds of people leave fake bills with just a corner showing just the dollar amount and the rest hidden under a napkin or peeking out of the check holder, but upon closer inspection turns out to be not real money. Such fake bills contain christian-adjacent texts which read things to the effect of "Jesus's love is more important than money".</p>

<p>I don't think anyone can tell for sure if any such person who leaves these fake bills does it as a way to propagate their religious beliefs, or to be a cheapskate with an "excuse", but the bottom line is they're leaving fake bills instead of real bills, and it's not cool to the servers.</p>

<p>Some say that the Secret Service will only investigate if the bills appear to be at least not obviously fake in full view, but the way these bills are used, only the real-looking portion is left in the open until the server comes over to collect them.</p>

<p>Is such use of "Jesus money" illegal? Can servers (or managers) of restaurants call the police on the customers for doing that?</p>

<p>If only the tip is left in such "fake" money, it would not be theft as there is no legal obligation to leave a tip at all (except in those establishments that add a tip or "service charge' to the bill.) If the "money" is not an attempt to imitate real cash, it wouldn't be counterfeiting (leaving monopoly money for example would not be counterfeiting). The server would be understandably angry. The restaurant might refuse to seat the people who left the "fake" another time, if the servers identified them to the manager, but nothing would require them to do so.</p>

<p>This is all on a US basis, I have no idea if tips might be legally required in other countries.</p>

<p>There is no legal obligation to pay tips — pretty much like no laws oblige people to be civilized and nice.</p>

<p>No law breaking — no basis for calling cops.</p>

<p>Not paying for a meal, by leaving fake money rather than real money, is theft and a crime. Therefore, it is appropriate to report the crime to police just at it would be if the patrons had "dined and dashed" without even leaving fake money. </p>

<p>Realistically, in the absence of security video, it may be virtually impossible to apprehend the perpetrators based on the report.  But, a police report would substantiate the incident if it happened again, so, if the perpetrators were identified by waitstaff before they fled and were either detained in a citizens arrest or discouraged from leaving in a manner that allowed police to arrive an apprehend them, they could be arrested later.</p>

<p>This would not be counterfeiting in most countries since it isn't really trying to make coins or currency that pass as the real thing, just plain old theft.</p>

currency