An 11-year-old boy was conned out of his hard-earned cash this summer by a man who used a fake $100 bill to purchase some homemade lemonade.
Per Insider, police say the man used the counterfeit bill to purchase some of the boy's fresh lemonade, which he lovingly whipped up using his own allowance money. When the man requested the exact change the boy, named Jeremy, managed to scrape together the rest of his money to give the man $85 back in change.
In a cruel introduction to the harsh realities of the world, Jeremy only discovered the bill was fake when he went to the local gas station in Everett, Washington.
The Everett Police Department reported the unjust incident to their 26,000 Facebook followers in a post that detailed the unfortunate turn of events.
"Can you identify this individual who took advantage of an 11-year-old running a lemonade stand?" the post read. Included was an image of the man suspected of giving Jeremy the fake bill.
"While our detectives work hard to bring closure to every case, this case§ struck a particular chord with them, and they want to do everything they can to get justice for Jeremy and catch this counterfeiter," the post concluded.
Jeremy and his family have a reputation in their neighborhood for being "hard workers," as comments under the police's Facebook post demonstrate.
"I am his family’s neighbor. I had no idea this happened. I will talk to the parents when I see them next and ask about ways people can support Jeremy. The 3 oldest boys of the family are all hard workers. Lemonade stand, mowing lawns, yard clean up etc," one user commented.
Another comment read, "Wow!! My husband and I have seen the kids standing there selling stuff and they are always cheerful and smiling. I hope karma gets that person!!"
It seems Jeremy's good reputation among the locals in Everett has served him well, after strangers rallied together to create a GoFundMe page so Jeremy could get his money back.
Three days after the page went live there have already been over $17,000 in donations from more than 800 people, far surpassing the page's original $250 goal. One kind contributor even donated an incredible $900.
Police are asking for anyone with further information that might help them locate the suspect to call (425) 257-8450, or send them a message on Facebook.