Coin Heist 2017

At Dennington Prep, four initially non-connected students—Alice Drake, Jason Hodges, Dakota Cunningham, and Benny—band together to recover some of the $10 million that was embezzled from the school’s coffers. Alice, a skilled hacker, approaches Jason, the headmaster’s son accused of mishandling the funds, with a bold plan to press counterfeit-like coins: their own slightly altered Michigan state quarters, each worth $5,000. The idea blossoms after a class trip to the Philadelphia Mint. They recruit mechanical help from Benny, a football scholarship student who works in his uncle’s garage, and Dakota, Jason’s bossy ex-girlfriend who is incredibly organized.

Dakota gets the team into the Mint by first sweet-talking the guards and posing as a reporter to distract the manager. Alice hacks the Mint’s security system, while the group figures out how to create the altered die. Everything seems to be falling into place until a major rift tests their resolve and teamwork. They are forced to carry on when Alice hacks the Mint’s website, granting them access on Saturday—the night of the formal—to mint the coins. Jason and Dakota prepare to perform the music, while Alice and Benny head to the mint to produce the quarters. A double glitch occurs, producing ten times the amount they intended, and the plan to cancel the real maintenance truck is skipped. Jason and Dakota rally to support one another despite the chaos.

The trio’s audacious heist nearly slips away unnoticed, but their art teacher uncovers the scheme. They are brought before the school board president, who turns out to be the person responsible for the missing funds. Facing a potential moral and legal bind, the students offer the valuable coins in exchange for the return of the embezzled money to the endowment and immunity from punishment. The revelation redefines loyalties and consequences within the school’s community.

In the closing moments, Dakota hints at a new relationship with Benny, and Jason contemplates a similar path with Alice, albeit with him continuing life at a normal high school. The capstone of their high-stakes, high-school caper leaves a lingering question about trust, consequence, and the cost of ambition.