Two Selbyville Middle School students were arrested for using counterfeit $20 bills in their school cafeteria on Monday, Sept. 25.
The fraudulent bills may have slipped by school cafeteria workers, but they did not make it past the bank. The incident was reported when Mercantile Bank discovered the counterfeit money, according to Cpl. Jeff Oldham of the Delaware State Police.
Oldham said Selbyville Middle School was then notified of the offense and, through interviews with the cafeteria workers and students, the two suspects were established. The two boys charged are brothers, ages 12 and 13, who reside in Dagsboro. Both admitted to the accusations, Oldham said.
According to police, the boys said they had used their computer and regular printing paper to make the four $20 bills that passed through their cafeteria.
The two minors will be tried in family court, but according to Detective Preston Lewis of Troop 4 of the Delaware State Police, no court date has yet been scheduled. Lewis said the boys are both Honor Roll students who do not have any history of previous trouble. He said the court will take those facts into consideration when sentencing the juveniles.
Selbyville Middle School Principal Bryce Reed said this was a new kind of incident for the school. “Nothing like this has happened before,” he said.
Reed said the school has now developed procedures, including the use of counterfeit-marking pens, to ensure there will not be a repeat occurrence.