A North Carolina man tried to pay at Walmart with a $1 million bill. It went as expected.

The man was trying to buy items worth less than $500 and insisted that his note was real.

PUBLISHED NOV 8, 2024

A cashier works at the checkout counter of a Wal-Mart Supercenter May 11, 2005 in Troy, Ohio. (Cover Image Source: Getty Images/ Chris Hondros)

Counterfeiting is a major concern for economies globally and could often result in bizarre cases. One such case is that of a man who ended up with a million-dollar bill, while no such thing exists in reality. However, this man seemed to be hell-bent on using his $1 million note and walked into a Walmart store with it. The 53-year-old named Michael Fuller from North Carolina allegedly tried to go shopping with a million-dollar note and was seen insisting that it was real. He was trying to buy items worth $476, including a vacuum cleaner, and a microwave oven, according to a report in the Daily Mail. Store employees later called the police and the Lexington, North Carolina man was eventually arrested.

Counterfeit US dollars, one of them altered to become a 1,000,000 dollars | (Image Source: Getty Images | Horacio Villalobos) — Counterfeit US dollars, one of them altered to make it worth a million | (Image Source: Getty Images | Horacio Villalobos)

Currently, the largest bill in circulation is worth $100 and although the government did once print notes of up to $10,000 in 1969, its circulation was stopped after seeing that the public rarely used it. The largest dollar bill ever printed was worth $100,000 and it carried a picture of President Woodrow Wilson. These bills were never used by the public and were printed between December 18, 1934, and January 9, 1935, for transferring money between Federal Reserve banks. The use of high-value bills in the 21st Century has decreased dramatically. These days, most of these increasingly rare bills from the bygone eras are owned by collectors. While these bills in mint condition with a rare denomination could get you a considerable amount, a $1 million bill was never printed and cannot get you anything in any way.

Stopwatch with one million dollar bills | (Image Source: Getty Images | Yurchello108)

Back in 2004, a very similar incident happened in Walmart when a woman named Alice Pike tried to use a fake $1 million bill to buy $1,675 worth of merchandise. Speaking to CNBC, she later said that it was a misunderstanding. However, that didn't save her from getting arrested. "You can’t keep up with the U.S. Treasury," said Alice Pike from jail. She later informed the police that she had received it from her estranged husband who was a currency collector. Pike tried to initially buy the items with her two Walmart gift cards and when the cashier informed her that the cards only held a total value of $2.32, she pulled out the $1 million bill and said, "All I’ve got is this."

How do People Fall for the Scam?

The idea of the extremely valuable bill has been pushed in pop culture. The famous 'bank error in your favor' scenario from the game Monopoly has also played a role in shaping this belief. Moreover, many businesses also print million-dollar bills for sale as novelties. The Secret Service has also declared them legal to print or own and does not consider them counterfeit. Another notable example of the 7-figure bill is currency from the Mad Magazine Game which features a $1,329,063 bill that serves as an Old Maid in the game. However, it's important to remember that all of them a re fictional.