A French daily newspaper reported the deal began when two men claiming to be French contacted the Greek man and said they wanted  to buy four rings and a necklace. (The Local)

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The three agreed to meet in Paris on Sept. 25, 2014, and exchange the cash for jewels in person, which would allow the sale to go untaxed, according to reports. (EU.GreekReporter.com)

The jeweler later told police he  checked one of the wads of money in the suitcase at the time of the meeting but did not check the rest until after the buyers had left. At that point, according to the French reports, the jeweler realized most of the bills were Monopoly money — and worthless.

And so was the phone number the jeweler had because, of course, it no longer led to his “buyers.”