One of the key in-state recruits from Penn State’s incoming class finds himself in serious hot water for what can only be considered a truly, truly dumb decision: He tried to pay with fake money at fast food restaurants.
As reported by the Harrisburg Patriot News and a variety of other sources, for the sake of saving a few bucks Harrisburg (Pa.) Central Dauphin High senior Zayd Issah now faces felony charges of forgery and conspiracy to forgery, as well as other misdemeanor charges related to using fake money at mutliple fast food restaurants.
Issah was caught by employees at a McDonald’s, who recognized that the money Issah gave them to pay for food bought by the Central Dauphin star and two of his friends. The McDonald’s employees wrote down the license plate on Issah’s car and reported it to police, who tracked down the football star and arrested him.
[Also: Ex-Laker A.C. Green's NBA championship rings stolen from his home]
While the teen is innocent until proven guilty, like all who are charged, a series of Facebook messages between Issah and a friend that were obtained during a police investigation allegedly indicate that the Penn State recruit was fully aware the bills he was using were forged versions of the authentic article.
There has been no word out of State College about how the trial facing Issah will affect his status with the Nittany Lions, though from a logistical standpoint it appears likely that he could still be a part of the 2013 team.
The Dauphin County District Attorney’s office told the Patriot News that Issah would likely avoid jail time and could even be eligible for a program called the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition Program, which would allow the athlete to serve out his sentence via probation and community service alone.
While Issah’s future may now be uncertain, the present value of his attempted fraud is distinctly negative: His family had to post $1,000 bail to have him released from jail … for his attempts to use counterfeit $20 bills twice.
That’s a -$960 balance against Issah at the moment. He can only hope that he’ll get a chance to redeem himself at Penn State.
• Tom Izzo's son goes with head over heart in Duke-MSU match
Want more on the best stories in high school sports? Visit RivalsHigh or connect with Prep Rally on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Memorable Moments from Yahoo! Sports:
Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
• Will QB Matt Barkley get drafted in the first round?
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar lobbies for the vacant UCLA coaching job
• Kobe injury adds to Lakers woes as they hobble toward finish line