Man Tries to Pay with $1,000,000 Bill at NC Walmart

A North Carolina man faces felony charges after allegedly trying to pay for his Walmart purchases with a fake $1 million bill.

Police say Michael Fuller, 53, of Lexington, N.C., tried to buy a microwave, a vacuum cleaner, and other items at a Walmart in November, the Winston-Salem Journal reports. His total rang up to $476.

Fuller allegedly handed a $1 million bill to the cashier, insisting it was real -- but store managers didn't buy it. They called police, and Fuller was arrested.

Fuller's arrest report describes his fake $1 million bill and adds, "There is no such thing."

Michael Fuller now faces charges of attempting to obtain property by false pretense and uttering a forged instrument, the Winston-Salem Journal reports.

In his defense, Fuller may try to claim he was just joking, and that his intent was not to abscond with the items -- or the $999,524 in change that he may have hoped was coming his way. But Fuller's alleged insistence that his phony bill was real seems to suggest he was serious.

As Lexington police wrote in their report, $1 million bills don't exist. The largest bill currently circulating is the $100 bill, the Journal reports. The federal government also used to issue bills in $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 denominations, but stopped in 1969.

The largest bill ever printed was a $100,000 bill that featured President Woodrow Wilson, according to the Journal. But those bills were only used for transactions between Federal Reserve banks.

Michael Fuller remains in jail in lieu of $17,500 bond. He was set to appear in court this week for trying to pass off his fake $1 million bill.

Related Resources:

• $1 Million Bill: Michael Fuller Allegedly Tried To Pass Off A $1 Million Bill At NC Walmart (The Associated Press)
• NC Man Tries To Spend Fake $1 Million Bill (CNN)
• State Forgery Laws (FindLaw)
• Paralegal Forges $285K Law Firm Check for NYC Spending Spree (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)