Donald Trump’s former White House aide is under fire after a video showed him claiming to distribute fake money to homeless people so that they will be arrested when they spend it.

Johnny McEntee, formerly the White House Presidential Personnel Office under the former president, posted a video on TikTok in which he discusses the purported scheme to “clean up the community.”

“So I always keep this fake Hollywood money in my car, so when a homeless person asks for money, and I give them like a $5 bill, I feel good about myself, they feel good,” said McEntee, also a senior advisor to Project 2025. “And then when they go to use it, they get arrested, so I’m actually helping to clean up the community and get them off the street.”

  • boydster@sh.itjust.works
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    2 months ago

    Didn’t George Floyd get murdered because he paid with a counterfeit? And assholes like this are proud of it.

  • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Alternate headline: Vapid idiot brags about his incessant need to punch down in order to sexually perform

    • whereisk@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      The whole thing stinks as schoolboy level revenge fantasy. I doubt there’s truth to it.

      Prop money has specific laws and guidelines and is very easily identifiable and therefore do not count as counterfeit.

      If a $5 bill does find its way in the economy no one gets arrested probably, someone just made a stupid trade. Otherwise half the store owners would be in jail when attempting to deposit money that happens to contain a fake note here and there.

      • michaelmrose@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Manufacturing prop money for movie purposes isn’t illegal. Passing it as legal tender IS. Note that passing and creating are 2 separate crimes. Notably even though he is giving it away he has specifically stated that the aim of this scheme is for it to be used for commerce by unwitting victims.

        • refalo@programming.dev
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          2 months ago

          you’re applying those terms to the wrong thing.

          there’s nothing inherently illegal with saying you’re giving someone fake money so they’ll get arrested.

          and trying to use movie money also won’t get anyone arrested.

          • CertifiedBlackGuy@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            Actually it is inherently illegal. It’s fraud.

            Because like the previous person said, they’re attempting to pass it off as legal tender by getting the homeless person the money so they’ll use it.

            • refalo@programming.dev
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              2 months ago

              that’s not what passing it off means.

              you have to actually try to use the money yourself, knowing it’s fake, for there to be a crime in this situation.

              • Liz@midwest.social
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                2 months ago

                What part about giving a person $5 because they asked for it isn’t using the money? They’re asking for real money. You give them fake money, knowing it’s fake. You don’t tell them it’s fake.

                Imagine donating fake money to a charity. Same thing.

              • ImADifferentBird@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                2 months ago

                Which is what he is doing when he gives it to the homeless person. Assuming we can take him at his word that he actually does this, of course, and with Trumpists, that’s a big if.

                • refalo@programming.dev
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                  2 months ago

                  A difference of opinion on subjective semantics is not inherently “moving the goalposts” IMO.

      • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I got passed a fake $100 as a pizza delivery driver one time. Some secret service agents came to my store a few days later, and asked me about where I got it. They took the information I had, and continued their investigation to get to the person that made the thing. It was easy to tell them where I got it. That was the only $100 bill I had been handed in weeks.

        • refalo@programming.dev
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          and even less people know that movie money isn’t prosecutable without proving it was intentional.

            • refalo@programming.dev
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              2 months ago

              someone would have to prove you did it on purpose knowing it was fake, and that requires getting arrested and charged in the first place and making it all the way to court

                • refalo@programming.dev
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                  2 months ago

                  admit what? handing people prop money? there’s nothing illegal with that or even proof he actually did it. not trying to defend anyone but just saying. these strawmen are a bit silly IMO

    • FiniteBanjo@lemmy.today
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      2 months ago

      By notified it means that they were tagged on social media. Persecution would probably require a victim to be found or come forward, or maybe get a warrant to search his vehicle for counterfeits and cocaine, unless they get him for a lesser charge like conspiracy to commit a crime.

    • DABDA@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      rappers often get prosecuted based on their lyrics

      Rapp Snitch Knishes

      • this_1_is_mine@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Rap snitches, tellin’ all their business Sit in the court and be their own star witness “Do you see the perpetrator?” Yeah, I’m right here Fuck around, get the whole label sent up for years…

    • xantoxis@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      The Secret Service was created to investigate counterfeiting. The president stuff came later.

    • Saprophyte@lemmy.world
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      https://www.secretservice.gov/investigations

      Counterfeiting of United States currency, bonds, checks, and other financial obligations and securities. Distributing or passing of counterfeited, forged, or altered U.S. currency and other financial obligations and securities. Criminals sometimes use online forums to sell bulk counterfeited U.S. or foreign currency.

    • Octavio@kbin.social
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      Well their original charter was to investigate counterfeiting. The presidential protection thing was kind of an add-on. But my impression was that the original function was moved to a different agency and the USSS, originally under the treasury department, moved to Homeland Security. So I don’t know why they would have anything to with this. Unless I remembered that wrong.

      • Wrench@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Right. I always thought the FBI was responsible for hunting down counterfeiting. The whole point of the FBI is to be federal level police, and our currency is a federal concern.

        • MutilationWave@lemmy.world
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          I understand why you would think that, but it’s wrong. The secret service is absolutely still in charge of investigating counterfeit money.

          I handled a lot of cash for an old job and I had to submit a form to the secret service whenever I reported counterfeits.

    • neuropean@kbin.social
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      2 months ago

      They basically handle counterfeit money cases, so people spending counterfeit money provided by this asshole would have been investigated by the secret service.

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Their original job was to go after counterfeiting And it’s still their jam. (Along with other similar financial crimes.)

      (Edit fuck autocorrect,)

        • BakerBagel@midwest.social
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          2 months ago

          Actually, a carpenter dealers with wooden structures like building frames and decks. A cabinet maker dealers with more intricate woodworking like furniture, countertops, and interior decorations. If you’re going to snarky, you better be correct.

    • Wrench@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Those cannot be reasonably mistaken for real currency. Carefully so, even.

      This person allegedly (from his own mouth) intentionally passed off paper convincing enough to be used in films, as real currency, to people with a high likelihood of mental illness, in the express desire to trick them into using it as real currency so that they get arrested.

      Who knows if any of this is true, but from the asses’ own mouth, that’s a world of difference in intent.

      • Doxatek@mander.xyz
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        2 months ago

        You’re right that no one would think they were real. When i worked at McDonald’s the bastards would pay this at the back window and try and zoom forward and get their food from the next window before the confused money taker could let the person handing out the food know lol

        Not that anyone thought it was real though. You’re definitely still correct

    • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      The people who pass these out are huge assholes…but do honestly need it explained to you why tricking a homeless person into using fake money so they are arrested is not the same as some religious nutter attempting to trick you into reading their proselytization?

  • UncleGrandPa@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Like the movement it grew out of. trumpism is designed to be cruel. To be Sadistic. To be brutal. To be heartless. It is not a flaw in their thinking. It is a purposely chosen tactic. As it is something that is desired it will never be punished

  • 🇰 🔵 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 ℹ️@yiffit.net
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    “So I always keep this fake Hollywood money in my car, so when a homeless person asks for money, and I give them like a $5 bill, I feel good about myself, they feel good,” said McEntee, also a senior advisor to Project 2025. “And then when they go to use it, they get arrested, so I’m actually helping to clean up the community and get them off the street.”

    Wow… What a fucking cartoonishly evil piece of shit…

  • Etterra@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    So another of Trump’s sycophants is committing crime that will get him arrested while Trump (who may or may not be behind or endorse the crime) gets away without consequences. How very typical.

    And If memory serves, wasn’t the secret service originally invented to fight fraud? Either counterfeiting, mail fraud, or something?

  • Delusional@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Wow who knew that these obvious piece of shit scumbags were obvious piece of shit scumbags. They’re a detriment to our society and republicans elect them to positions of power where they can become even larger detriments to our society.

  • Otakulad@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Shows how stupid this guy is. Obviously it isn’t illegal for someone to own “Hollywood money” or else he wouldn’t admit to owning it himself. If a homeless person gives it to a store and they accept it, that’s on them.

    It clearly states on the bills “For Motion Picture use Only”, doesn’t feel right, and isn’t the right size.

    • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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      2 months ago

      If a homeless man accepts a Hollywood bill, believes it genuine, and tries to spend it - they’re not at fault for most of the currency related laws. Simply handing a homeless person a fake bill with the intent that they believe it is genuine is the super illegal thing. There’s a large mens rhea component to most crimes but especially around fraud… the basis of most fraud cases is inequal information: you purposefully don’t disclose a significant quality of the goods being transferred.

      I hope this shitheel learns thoroughly that the secret service are really fucking serious about their non-bodyguard duty.

      (Also, shout out to Warehouse 13 for being a fucking hilarious premise right in this area)

    • Rentlar@lemmy.ca
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      The person handing them out, passing the fake bills off as real money to the homeless(even as a donation) is the illegal thing. Spending a counterfeit bill without having known it was fake is not illegal in the US afaik, but you can still be arrested for it because the police don’t have to believe that you didn’t know.

        • NABDad@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          That’s ridiculous. He was executed for being black. The counterfeit bill was just the excuse.

      • Otakulad@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I mean it isn’t counterfeit. Counterfeit is making a bill yourself that looks exactly like an actual bill. These specifically state they aren’t real.

        I didn’t know about giving it out as a donation though.

        • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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          The quality of the item is only a consideration if its unreasonable for a regular person to mistake it for real (a good example is bills printed in red). If someone could mistake it for genuine and you’re falsely presenting it as genuine - then you’ve got fraud.

        • Rentlar@lemmy.ca
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          Counterfeit is something that looks close enough that someone could believe it’s something it isn’t.

          Hollywood money has to look real at a distance, the fact it says “not legal tender” in small print doesn’t make it not possible to be used as a counterfeit. If it’s crumpled or folded up, the obvious tells that it’s fake might be hidden. A person with poor eyesight or numb fingers can’t sense it well. When mixed in a pile of change and 1 dollar bills it can be missed.

          Someone intentionally donating movie money to the homeless is using those bills as counterfeit bills. And that person then attempting to buy something with it is passing counterfeit currency, knowingly or not.

    • Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works
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      It’s absolutely not legal. But you’d need a lawyer, and the homeless don’t have a lawyer. The wealthy and well to do love this trick… Punching down is kind of their thing.