Police: Man tried to open bank account with fake $1M bill

AIKEN, SC (WIS) - Authorities say a bank teller in Clearwater had a million reasons not to open an account for an Augusta, Georgia, man.

Aiken County Sheriff's spokesman Lieutenant Michael Frank says 31-year-old Alexander D. Smith tried to open an account Monday with a fake $1 million bill.

Franks says the employee refused to open the account and called police while the man started to curse at bank workers.

Frank says Smith has been charged with disorderly conduct and two counts of forgery.

Authorities say the federal government has never printed a million-dollar bill.

The largest denomination of currency ever printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) was the $100,000 Series 1934 Gold Certificate featuring the portrait of President Wilson.

Those notes were printed from December 18, 1934 through January 9, 1935 and were issued by the Treasurer of the United States to Federal Reserve Banks only against an equal amount of gold bullion held by the Treasury Department.

The notes were used only for official transactions between Federal Reserve Banks and were not circulated among the general public.

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