A joint police investigation has been launched to figure out where a 6-year-old boy got the counterfeit money he handed out at school.
About a week ago, a first-grader at a Sandy elementary school tried to buy something at his school, according to the Jordan School District.
A school official to whom he handed the money noticed the money didn't look valid. After further investigation, police were called.
Detectives discovered the boy had passed out more counterfeit money, of several denominations, to two of his friends, Sandy Police Sgt. Bill O'Neal said.
The money was not high-quality counterfeiting, O'Neal said. But it was more than just Monopoly money.
"It was money that was intended to pass as real money," O'Neal said. "It was intended to look real."
Sandy police and the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office have opened a joint investigation. Very few details of the case were released Tuesday because the investigation was still ongoing, O'Neal said.
Detectives would not release Tuesday where they believe the boy might have gotten the money. O'Neal said investigators were also not ready to release which elementary school the boy attended.
He said, however, that the 6-year-old does not face any potential charges.
"He doesn't know it's not real," he said. "There was no criminal intent on his part."
Police were also not ready to release Tuesday how many counterfeit bills the boy had on him and how much they totaled.
The school district had no other comments, except to confirm there was an incident at an elementary school and that police were investigating.
E-MAIL: preavy@desnews.com