Counterfeit $50, $100 bills scattered along road
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
March 17, 2015
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/counterfeit-bills-scattered-along-road/article_cb22e5ea-5ada-11e7-80d7-10604b9f0f42.html
McCracken County Sheriff's Department
It must have seemed like a litter abatement officer's lucky day Monday when, while supervising a cleanup, he came upon a $50 bill lying in the roadway near the Metropolis Mayfield Road and Cairo Road intersection in western McCracken County.
With a quick look around, the officer noticed more bills scattered along the roadside and some blown into ditches and nearby fields.
If only the money hadn't been counterfeit.
"It's certainly very unusual," McCracken County Sheriff Jon Hayden said of the $2,100 picked up in counterfeit $100 and $50 bills. "One can only speculate how the counterfeit money ended up scattered along the roadway."
Hayden said from the way it was dispersed it was obvious the money was thrown from a moving vehicle, but why it was tossed he couldn't begin to guess.
Once the cash was collected, the litter abatement officer "did the right thing," Hayden said, and turned the money over to the sheriff's department.
It didn't take long, the sheriff said, to determine the money was fake.
"We've had a lot of training on counterfeit money," he said. "The counterfeiters can get pretty good, but there are certain things we are taught to look for. Many of these bills had the same serial numbers."
Sheriff's deputies were then sent back out to see if any more fake bills were lying around. Hayden said the search turned up another $250.
Hayden said the money will be turned over to the U.S. Secret Service where they will be able to track the serial numbers nationwide.
"So if they arrest a suspect in Phoenix, Arizona, and catch him making counterfeit money with those serial numbers he can essentially be charged in every state that money has been used," Hayden said.
With this amount of cash being found, Hayden warned it was likely some counterfeit bills will turn up in circulation in Paducah. He recommended business owners employ the regular use of counterfeit pens or markers to check the bills they receive.
If someone does receive suspicious money, Hayden said the retailer should call the police or sheriff's department. He added that all counterfeit money would have to be seized.
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun Staff writer, at 270-575-8653.
With a quick look around, the officer noticed more bills scattered along the roadside and some blown into ditches and nearby fields.
If only the money hadn't been counterfeit.
"It's certainly very unusual," McCracken County Sheriff Jon Hayden said of the $2,100 picked up in counterfeit $100 and $50 bills. "One can only speculate how the counterfeit money ended up scattered along the roadway."
Hayden said from the way it was dispersed it was obvious the money was thrown from a moving vehicle, but why it was tossed he couldn't begin to guess.
Once the cash was collected, the litter abatement officer "did the right thing," Hayden said, and turned the money over to the sheriff's department.
It didn't take long, the sheriff said, to determine the money was fake.
"We've had a lot of training on counterfeit money," he said. "The counterfeiters can get pretty good, but there are certain things we are taught to look for. Many of these bills had the same serial numbers."
Sheriff's deputies were then sent back out to see if any more fake bills were lying around. Hayden said the search turned up another $250.
Hayden said the money will be turned over to the U.S. Secret Service where they will be able to track the serial numbers nationwide.
"So if they arrest a suspect in Phoenix, Arizona, and catch him making counterfeit money with those serial numbers he can essentially be charged in every state that money has been used," Hayden said.
With this amount of cash being found, Hayden warned it was likely some counterfeit bills will turn up in circulation in Paducah. He recommended business owners employ the regular use of counterfeit pens or markers to check the bills they receive.
If someone does receive suspicious money, Hayden said the retailer should call the police or sheriff's department. He added that all counterfeit money would have to be seized.
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun Staff writer, at 270-575-8653.
