Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Sweet Home police are continuing to investigate reports of counterfeit money and have additional suspects.
Since the arrest of three suspects two weeks ago, police have received two new reports of counterfeit money, a total of 10 since Dec. 1.
The suspects have been charged with first-degree forgery for knowingly passing counterfeit bills.
“We still have suspects and several active investigations associated with individuals that have passed forged bills,” said Police Chief Jeff Lynn. “The belief right now is they’re coming from one location and being disseminated out.”
The counterfeits have been in a variety of denominations, from $5 and up during the past month. At the end of September and in early October, local businesses reported receiving fake $100, $20 and $10 bills.
The two series of incidents involve different sets of counterfeit bills, Lynn said.
Previously, Sgt. Jason Van Eck said the December bills are smaller than normal bills and are cut poorly. People should watch for smudged ink and money that looks like it’s been cut out with scissors. The texture of the bill can provide a clue as well.
The bills don’t show security features, such as vertical ribbons with text spelling out the denomination, watermarks and additional portraits, which can be found at uscurrency.gov/denominations, and can be identified by counterfeit detection pens. Pens leave a dark brown color on counterfeit bills and a yellow mark on legitimate bills.
Lynn urges business owners and the public to take a second and focus on the bills when they receive them. He also urges business owners to use the pens.
“If you pay attention, they’re really poor quality,” he said, adding that those passing the forged bills will try to distract recipients.
At this point, Lynn said, reports have been from businesses. The department has not received reports from individuals receiving fake bills.
Anyone with information about the counterfeits should contact the Police Department at (541) 367-5181.