Hold the note up to the light to see if the security strip is still there. If so, you have a legitimate error. Your note has decent collector value. If not, somebody pulled / removed the security strip. Your note in this case is worth face value.
Okay, with the microscope photos (wish they were posted full image) I'm going with damaged. Someone managed to remove the security strip. I have a five dollar bill, with the same MF prefix, and indeed, it goes over that same area and would obliterate the same graphics. I would say, unfortunately, it is just a damaged note and sending it in and paying for authentication would be a disappointing waste of money.
Get a current $5 note, and hold it up to the light. At the position where the white part is in this note, you should see a thread that says 'USA - 5' repeating. Other denominations (except $1 and $2) will have a similar strip, but at a different position, and labeled with the appropriate denomination. I think the strip glows under UV as well. The strip is embedded into the paper, and it can possibly get ripped out.
Singles (I assume you meant $1) do not have the security strip, and I don't think $2 notes do either. But $5 and up do for sure.
It is very unlikely that a TPG would make such an error. As paddyman98's is certified. Just my opinion.
I think along the line, some posters got confused about which note we were talking about. All of my posts are about the OPs note, not @paddyman98 note. I did an experiment with trying to remove the security strip from the $5 note I have, and after folding the area back and forth, to loosen the strip, I soaked it over night in water and sure enough, with tweezers, I am able to remove the strip. The folds I made in the strip could easily be confused as a crease on the back of the note, as might be on a true gutter fold. Yes, I wasn't as careful as I would be if I were trying to "counterfeit" a gutter fold, but you can see that it can indeed be done. So, my conclusion is that the OPs note is damaged by someone removing the security strip, and not a gutter fold or obstruction print.