n A fourth-grader running a lemonade stand whose profits will be donated to Alzheimer's research was bilked out of $50 by a bicyclist who passed a fake $50 and asked for change.

For the past three years, fourth-grader Maya Leachman of Monroe has sold lemonade at her stand to raise money for Alzheimer’s research in honor of her grandfather who’s suffering from the debilitating disease.

On Sunday, a thief used fake money to cheat Maya out of $50 while she was busy making sales.

“It’s sad because the money was going to a good cause,” said Maya, a Triumph Academy student. “I was a little mad.”

Maya raised $1,151.88 by selling her special lemonade shake-up and popcorn for four hours in front of her grandparents’ house on E. Third St., but it should have been $1,201.88. She intends to donate the sum to the Monroe Walk to End Alzheimer’s, which will occur Sept. 24 at Loranger Square.

“I was upset my child had to see that side of humanity,” said her mother, Lisa Leachman. “It’s just sad that you have to teach your child that you can’t trust everybody.”

When the man rode up on a black bicycle and asked for change for a $50 bill, no one really gave it a second thought since the sale involved a soon-to-be 9-year-old girl raising money for charity. Ms. Leachman said they discovered the bill was phony at the end of the day while counting the donations.

“Boy was I shocked,” Ms. Leachman said. “He knew what he was doing.”

They called the police, who responded and filed a report. Cpl. Terese Herrick encouraged Maya not to let one bad person spoil her faith in the goodness of others.

“It was the lowest of the low,” Cpl. Herrick said, adding that the Monroe Police Department is taking up a collection for Maya. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to get him.”

The bogus bills are being circulated across the United States, and several cases of the counterfeit cash being passed in Monroe County establishments have been reported. The bills are called motion picture money and they look real, except for the words “for motion picture use only.” They apparently were used as props in movies.

Maya, her mother and the volunteers were working the lemonade stand when the man rode up and handed them a note saying he was deaf and needed change for the $50. So they tossed the fake bill into the bucket and handed him two real 20s and a 10. The man deviously concealed the words that identified the bill as a phony.

“He folded it up just right so we couldn’t read it,” Maya said, adding that she has a message for the thief: “Why did you do that? That really upset my family.”

Her mother said she hopes the crook has a conscience after knowing he stole from a little girl trying to raise money in support of her ailing grandfather.

“He’s the one who has to lay his head down at night and sleep,” Ms. Leachman said. “She worked all day long, and he just stole from her.”

Maya said despite the thief’s actions, she said she still believes most people are good. She will not let the incident dissuade her from future lemonade sales.

“I’m not gonna let it stop me,” she said.

Here's Maya's Walk Donation Page:

http://act.alz.org/site/TR/Walk2014/?px=9571351&pg=personal&fr_id=9078