A Craigavon man who tried to use a counterfeit £50 note to make a purchase in McDonald’s has been handed a £150 fine.
The 20-year-old’s solicitor told court the defendant had been given the note after selling a bike at Nutts Corner.
James Maughan, of Enniskeen, pleaded guilty to tendering counterfeit currency at Craigavon Magistrates’, sitting at Lisburn, on Friday via videolink from his solicitor’s office.
Preosecution outlined that on January 28, of last year, police received a report from staff at McDonald’s in Portadown that a male had attempted to make a purchase with a suspected counterfeit £50 note.
Officers viewed CCTV and were able to identify the culprit as the defendant, with testing done on the Clydesdale £50 bank note confirming it to be fake.
During interview, Maughan admitted to tendering the note but claimed not to know it was fake, stating he had been given it at Nutts Corner.
District Judge Rosie Watters commented: “What note would you have provided in order to be given a £50 note? I mean I would never have a £50 note or anything more than that.”
Defence solicitor Adrian Harvey explained that the defendant had been given it for a bike which he had sold at Nutts Corner and had used it at McDonald’s to buy food on the way home.
Maughan was ordered to pay a fine of £150, along with the offender’s levy of £15.
