Homeless Black Man Sues Burger King for $1 Million After Wrongful Arrest Over Fake Money

Emory Ellis, a black homeless man in Boston, is suing Burger King and one of its franchises for calling the cops on him and accusing him of using counterfeit money.

Talk about a major come-up.

The Associated Press reports Emory Ellis, a black homeless man in Boston, was arrested when he was wrongfully accused of paying with counterfeit money for his breakfast at a Burger King franchise. The incident, which happened back in 2015, led to Ellis spending at least three months in jail, when the arrest triggered a probation violation. The Secret Service later confirmed Ellis' money was real but to add insult to injury, he never got the cash back. Now, he's suing Burger King and the franchisee for $950,000.

"A person like me would've gotten an apology, but a person like Emory somehow finds his way in handcuffs for trying to pay for his breakfast with real money," said Ellis' attorney, Justin Drechsler, who is white, according to the AP.

The fast-food chain has since said they don't allow discrimination "of any kind" but did not share a comment on Ellis' case. However, they did note this incident happened at a franchise location, not a corporate one. Therefore, the franchisee "is responsible for employee training and handling legal matters about the location," as the AP relayed. The franchisee, Two Guys Foods, Inc., has yet to publicly comment on the lawsuit.

The news comes after a series of white people calling the police on black people for everyday things such as sitting in Starbucks, BBQing in a park, or sleeping in a common area at Yale University. Now we can add buying breakfast while homeless to the list.

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