Hide Article Text (OCR)
(Continued from Page B1) terfeiters then reprinted the likeliness of a $50 on top of the smaller bill. Police said the man who used the faux 50s is dark-skinned, in his early-to-mid 30s, with short dark hair, and a medium build. He was wearing baggy jeans and a grey or blue shirt. The woman shopping with him is white, in her mid 30s, and has sandy-brown, shoulder-length hair. She was wearing a white sweater and jeans. The following day, more counterfeit $50 bills showed up at two banks on Kent Island. Between 16 and 20 counterfeit bills surfaced at MT bank and Suntrust, the Queen Anne’s County state’s attorney said. On Monday, another counterfeit bill turned up at Centreville Bank. The fake bills were printed in the same fashion as those used at the Prime Outlets. Investigators tracked the bills and said they have mostly been passed at food stores and gas stations on Kent Island. It is unknown if the same couple using fake cash at Prime Outlets passed other phony bills in Kent Island. The bills passed look very much like authentic $50 bills, Lt. Patrick said. Because they are printed on $5 bills — real currency — the pen many busi nesses use to identify counter feit cash does not alert them the bill is fake. To the naked eye, and the swipe of the pen, the money looks real. But if they're raised into the light, a cashier could see Presi dent Abraham Lincoln's smirk ing mug staring back at them, instead of President Ulysses S. Grant, said Sgt. Gilmer, an Anne Arundel police spokes man. Lt. Patrick predicts more fake cash will surface in Kent Island in the coming weeks. “I'm sure there are some other places they've (the sus pects) have stopped and hit,” he said. Local merchants should be aware, and check the secu rity strip on any $50 bills they receive, said Donna Frohn, a spokesman for the Queen Anne’s County state’s attorney. “On a good $50 bill, the strip is on the right,” she said. “On these counterfeit bills, the strip is on the left, as it is printed on the bleached $5 bill.” Quick-thinking employees and county police foiled an other recent funny money scam earlier this month at Westfield Annapolis mall. On April 4 a man tried to pass off fake $50 bills at Chick-fil-A and Borders before he was caught and shown footage of himself passing the phony bills. Police said found 16 $50 bills on him that appeared counter feit as well as two $20 bills and 30 $5 bills. The Secret Service has is investigating that inci dent, as well as the counterfeit incidents on Kent Island, Lt. Patrick said. Police charged Daniele Francesco Nucci, 26, with two counts of knowingly passing counterfeit documents, one count of possessing counterfeit currency and one count of resisting arrest. It is unknown at this point if he’ll also face federal charges. Sgt. Gilmer said more coun terfeit money was discovered at the Borders store within a few days after the arrest. Frank Kratovil, Queen Anne’s County state’s attorney, asks anyone across the bridge to report any counterfeit bills passed at a business. “Call the sheriff's office immediately and give them a description of the person, and if possible, their license plate number,” he said in a written statement. “Do not try to ap prehend the person yourself, but be aware and protect your business by checking counter feit money.”
Newspaper Details
Capital Gazette
Annapolis, Maryland, US
Fri, Apr 18, 2008
Page 14
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
