If You Trade Your Chrysler 300 for $1,500 in Fake Money That Says "Motion Picture Purposes" & "In Props We Trust", You Kinda Deserve to Be Scammed
Dexerto – A Muncie, Indiana, man is facing charges after allegedly using prop money to purchase a car through Facebook Marketplace, according to court documents.
Nathan Durden-Washpun, 38, is accused of giving a seller $1,500 in bills marked with the “propmoney.com” logo in exchange for a Chrysler 300. The accused sent someone to meet the seller and exchange the money as they towed the vehicle away.
It was early, dark, and the seller reportedly couldn’t see the cash. It wasn’t until later that they realized the money wasn’t real.
It's been a while since I've thought about Muncie, Indiana. The location of the MAC's very own Ball State University. Famously attended by the esteemed likes of...
Host of The Late Show, David Letterman
Creator of Garfield, Jim Davis
Creator of Papa John's, Papa John
And creator of wearing a fedora on sports talk radio, Jason Whitlock
Muncie, Indiana is also famously the preferred vacation destination of Parks & Recreation's own Jerry Gergich.
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I had an uncle who used live in Muncie, as well. I'm pretty sure he once claimed the whole place was run by the mob. At the time, I thought that seemed a little farfetched. What the hell does "The Mob" want with Muncie, Indiana? But I'm reading now, according to an old column in The Muncie Star, that Muncie is sometimes (or at least used to be) referred to as "Little Chicago". Thanks to their high crime rate and cavalier attitude towards gambling & political corruption.
Star Press – When most people refer to Muncie as "Little Chicago," it's assumed they're comparing the perception of crime and corruption here to Chicago. Several books, articles and online sources refer to it as such.
Almost all say the reference was because of Muncie's "gambling, prostitution and bootleg liquor," as the website livability.com says.
In a December 1979 column in The Muncie Star, editor Larry Shores, in a column about Chicago, acknowledges what he calls "Muncie's one-time image as "Little Chicago."
"The nickname no doubt was produced by a crime rate which at least seemed higher than normal and a somewhat casual attitude toward things like gambling and political corruption," Shores wrote. He said the nickname was part of an "inferiority complex" that people in Muncie had.
Don't threaten me with a good time, Muncie. If I spent a weekend there, I'd probably wind up winning the mayorship in a poker game. Top that off with the Chrysler 300 I purchased for $20 worth of movie money, and I'm basically the Al Capone of that place.
My first act as Mayor Al Capone - If you accept $1,500 in very obvious movie money in exchange for your car, that's on you. We gotta hold our citizens to a higher standard. People have to learn to keep their heads on a swivel when cutting deals in Muncie. According to the article, this clearly labeled MOTION PICTURE PURPOSES money was purchased straight from www.propmoney.com, where $2,000 in movie quality hundred dollar bills runs you $17.99.
I'm not even sure we can rightfully call the man who used this "money" a scammer. Last I checked, the barter system is still legal in America. The seller showed up with his very reasonably priced Chrysler 300. The buyer said, "Will you trade me your car in exchange for these papers?", and the seller said, "Sure thing."
That's a done deal. I don't have any prop money from propmoney.com on me currently, but whenever I've held prop money before (our New York office had a bunch laying around the green room from when they filmed Sports Advisors there), it's very clearly not real money. It looks like it. But the feel is way off.
However, to be fair the man who was "scammed", the reviews on propmoney.com makes it sound like their bills actually might feel pretty realistic.
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But I'm afraid that argument isn't going to hold up in court. Especially considering that after this guy drove off, he immediately attempted to disguised his brand new used car by spray painting the shit out of it.
When investigators arrived, they say Durden-Washpun had spray-painted the vehicle in an attempt to conceal it. Court documents state he admitted to knowing the cash was counterfeit and working with others to pull off the deal.
Still… you gotta be better than that. Especially when you're selling a vehicle for $1,500, in the dark, through Facebook Marketplace. If I'm selling a car on Facebook Marketplace, I'd be so on alert for scams that I'd almost be shocked if the buyer handed me real American currency.
Fantastic advertisement for propmoney.com though. I'd put this story on the front page of my website if I were them. If they money is good enough to buy a car, it's certainly good enough for your music video. Or for pretending to be rich on instagram. Or as a "manifesting tool" like that L.W. guy in the reviews. Whatever the hell that means.