The Lighter Side... Some Incredibly Stupid Criminals?
Profit Ability Article Highlight

Ever hear about the 22 year old guy who was arrested for trying to use counterfeit $16 bills at an airport hotel? How about the fraud case where a bus carrying a total of five passengers was in an accident, but when police arrived a total of 14 people claimed to have been on the bus and suffering from whiplash? It seems money makes dumb people even dumber, and we've got a few stories that bolster this notion.

Out of Order: Knowing the bank would be closed all weekend, a crook tried to pull a fast one on bank customers. He taped a sign on the night deposit slot stating "Deposit drawer out of order. Please use the alternate box provided." Alongside the real deposit slot, the crook placed an overnight mail bin cleared of its markings. To one customer making a deposit that weekend, things didn't look right. He called police, who captured the crook later that night coming to pick up his loot. Over $35,000 in cash had been deposited into the fake bin.

The One Stooge: Using the Three Stooges' fictitious law firm name, Dewey, Cheatem, & Howe, a Texas man was somehow able to acquire over 100 lines of credit for the bogus business. Over the four year run of fraud, this joker cost credit card companies, casinos, and banks over $1 million. When a bank manager, who just so happened to be a Three Stooges fan, was asked to approve a money order request for the fake firm, he called the FBI. The crook was prosecuted in short order.

Big Dollars, Little Sense: A woman approached the new accounts desk at a bank stating she'd like to open an account. After asking a series of questions, the accounts clerk, a new hire, established the account. Upon finishing the process, the clerk asked how the woman would like to make the initial deposit. The woman drew a $1 million bill from her wallet and handed it to the clerk. The clerk recorded the deposit, not knowing that there was no such thing as a $1 million bill. Before the counterfeit bill was discovered a few days later by a manager, the woman was able to transfer an undisclosed amount to her husband's bank account.

Reality Perspective Bank? Come On!: When a criminal is low on money, what does he do? Make his own bank, of course! Using a check-making program he bought at OfficeMax, Kurt Boyd produced a $22 million check payable to himself. He used a fake bank name, "Reality Perspective Bank." When he gave the check to the teller at the drive-up window, the teller saw a few problems with the situation: 1) The teller had never heard of Reality Perspective Bank; 2) The man cashing the $22 million check at the drive-thru window was driving a 1984 Volvo; 3) The address on the check for Reality Perspective showed an apartment number. What bank operates from an apartment? Apparently Reality Perspective Bank did.