A Fayetteville man said he received his final paycheck from his former employer in over 90,000 pennies that was covered in grease or oil which had been dumped in his driveway.
Andreas Flaten said he parted ways with A OK Walker Autoworks in November of 2020. Flaten added that he was supposed to get his last paycheck but was having problems receiving it.
Flaten said he even reached out to the Georgia Department of Labor to get assistance with his situation.
Flaten said he had finally received his $915 he was due; however, he did not receive it in the way he thought he would.
Flaten said as he was leaving to go to the store, he noticed the pile of grease-covered pennies. There was also a note on top of the pile that said “F—You” and contained his last paystub.
“This is such a childish thing to do,” Flaten said.
The grease-covered pennies have been placed inside his garage in a wheelbarrow. The tires of the wheelbarrow have been flattened due to the weight of all the pennies.
“If I’ve done my math correctly, 91,515 pennies should come out to be about – at two and a half grams each – about 504 pounds,” Flaten said.
Flaten said every night he sits in his garage trying to clean the pennies with a solution of dish soap, vinegar, and water. He says even with the solution it has been tough to get the pennies fully cleaned.
It took him nearly an hour and a half to clean several hundred pennies.
“I think that’s going to be a lot of work for money I’ve already worked for,” he said. “It’s going to be hours upon hours of just trying to clean this money up so that it’s even able to be spent. It’s definitely not fair at all.”
Flaten mentioned that he is worried the oil or grease will be harmful to the environment. There are fruit trees in his backyard and a freshwater creek only about 100 feet away.
According to news reports, the owner made a statement saying that he paid Flaten in U.S. currency and declined to further comment.
