 Most of us should count ourselves lucky that we've never had to grapple with homelessness Inflicting far more damage than just displacing you this epidemic can strip away your basic human rights In the worst cases people treat you like an animal viral stories present Homeless man sues fast food chain that got him imprisoned But before we start please make sure to subscribe to viral stories and hit the bell so you never miss an upload from us Also, leave a like and a comment and share the story with your friends right now That's what Emery Ellis discovered in 2015 Just looking to get through another difficult day his simple meal order turned into a misunderstanding that threatened to wrench away his future for good With a serious accusation hanging over him Emery had to clear his name Emery Ellis had it tough The 37 year old lived in Boston though. He didn't have any roof over his head Emery crashed on a couch when he could but more often than not he had to sleep on the streets while trying to scrape by One of the 6,000 homeless individuals in Boston Emery had to contend with hunger and the harsh New England winters However, he was pretty resourceful While Emery didn't have much he kept a stash of money on hand to provide for his basic needs That's what brought him to a Burger King in 2015 Though he only had a few dollars to his name he could afford the fast-food joint On top of that he hoped the fast service would allow him to get in and out of the restaurant without making a scene After all the availability of food is a huge contradiction for the homeless community They need a hot meal more than anyone and yet many establishments refused to serve them due to their disheveled appearances flicker slash Doug Bodden But Emery told himself there wouldn't be a problem He ordered breakfast at the front register and slapped a $10 bill on the counter more than enough to cover his simple order However, a frown spread across the cashier's face The employee took a closer look at the ordinary bill and leveled a huge accusation at Emery He claimed that this was a counterfeit and that Emery forged it to steal from Burger King Fed up with this nonsense Emery demanded his money back and prepared to leave Even that part didn't go as planned The Burger King cashier set aside the fake in his register and pulled out his phone Unable to process exactly how all this was happening Emery could only watch in shock as the employee dialed 9-1-1 Police arrived at the restaurant within minutes, but Emery actually felt relieved This crazy fast-food worker overreacted and hurled a ridiculous accusation at him Surely the authorities could calm the guy down and confirm that Emery was no counterfeiter Unfortunately, the police weren't interested in justice that day They cuffed Emery and placed him under arrest without even asking for his side of the story He suddenly found himself getting booked downtown and carrying a felony charge Most people would be able to make bail in this situation, but of course Emery had nowhere near enough money They locked him behind bars while he waited for his trial to explain himself whenever that would be Before he could clear his name, however, Emery had to worry about survival America's prisons are fraught with danger for non-violent inmates, guilty and innocent They have to keep an eye out for constant violence and they risk getting sucked into the criminal lifestyle Emery had the good sense to stay out of trouble while in the pen, but that didn't make the wait any easier Three months passed while he waited for a decision that could possibly lock him up for the rest of his life At last, the court made the obvious choice to drop the ridiculous case The bill was real But that didn't fix all Emery's problems The felony charge still counted as a probation violation for him. So his future was very much in peril But he chose to fight back He touched base with Justin Drexler, a local criminal defense lawyer Justin eagerly took up Emery's case, which he interpreted as a clear instance of discrimination Would the Burger King staff react the same way if a white man had ordered in Emery's place? As Justin explained, Emery wasn't alone either A number of high-profile discrimination suits recently made headlines In Philadelphia, police arrested two black men in a Starbucks while they were waiting to meet a friend for two minutes Similarly, five women golfers had the police called on them when the golf course staff deemed they were playing too slowly Emery and Justin agreed that he should take his story public to help force these rampant prejudices into the spotlight After all, authorities hadn't examined the genuine $10 bill until long after Emery's arrest When you tack that on to Burger King's irresponsible customer service He never even got his money back Emery saw nothing but mistreatment the entire way With more than enough justification Emery Ellis filed a lawsuit against the fast-food giant and that franchise owner for just under $1 million The Suffolk Superior Court is handling the decision, though cases of this importance could get appealed all the way to the top All things considered, Emery was fortunate to get out of the prison system relatively unscathed Countless other homeless individuals get trapped for good in a prison cell Many haven't even done anything wrong This case stands for much more than just getting $10 back It represents a milestone in recognizing the humanity of all people and rectifying a major flaw in the justice system Just because a man doesn't have a home of his own doesn't mean he doesn't have a voice or a place to stand his ground