South Carolina Man Charged with Forgery After Attempting to Pay Bail with Counterfeit Cash

Patrick Alexander’s attempt to tip a South Carolina judge with fake money backfired after the judge noticed Chinese writing on the counterfeit $100 bills.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 17, 2026, 7:07 PM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from The Smoking Gun.

A Failed Attempt at Freedom

The incident occurred in Chesterfield, South Carolina, following the Saturday arrest of Patrick Alexander for trespassing. After spending a night in the county lockup, Alexander appeared before Judge John Davis, who had set his bail at $250. Upon being granted access to his personal belongings to retrieve the funds, Alexander produced a wad of cash and handed the judge what he believed to be four $100 bills. According to police reports, Alexander even advised the judge to "keep the change" as a tip for the court.

The "Funny Money" Discovery

Judge Davis immediately grew suspicious when he noticed the color and texture of the currency "did not look right." Upon closer inspection, the judge flipped the bills over to find Chinese writing printed on the back. A detention officer subsequently utilized a counterfeit detection pen, which confirmed that the bills were entirely fraudulent. While Alexander initially thought he was providing $300 to cover his $250 bond, a later evidence count revealed he had actually handed over four fake bills, totaling an attempted $150 "tip" to the bench.

Escalated Charges and Increased Bond

The attempt to pay with counterfeit money has drastically altered Alexander's legal standing. Rather than being released on a misdemeanor trespassing charge, he was immediately hit with two additional counts: