Merchants beware!
Bogus money surfaces nearby
By Debbie Lowe Staff writer

Counterfeit $100 bills surfaced in the Lafayette and possibly Rossville areas in the past two days, according to Det. Jeff Rooze of the Lafayette Police Department's forgery and finance crimes division.

"Local merchants have to know their currency," Rooze told the Comet Tuesday afternoon. "Counterfeit detection pens will read that the bills are good currency, which they are, but the pens will not verify the denomination of the currency."

Rooze explained that the bad currency was washed and bleached. It was then re-printed as $100 bills by the counterfeiters. The pens test the veracity or weight of the paper, not the numbers on the paper he said.

"Merchants should look for holograms, color shifting ink and security threads when they get a $100 bill," Rooze said.

He said the suspect, who is believed to be a large black male, made purchases of between $5 and $10 and then paid for them with a fake $100.

"We have a video of the suspect," Rooze said. "He was wearing a beige shirt, beige New York Yankee hat and looks to be around 300-350 pounds. He's a big fella!"

The bogus bills have the same serial number, which is AJ12938410A with a J10 underneath and are a 1996 series. The maybe inconsistent and does not go all the way to the corners of the note, which has an irregular feel.

Rooze suggested merchants who suspect they have received counterfeit money call local law enforcement or a banking institution to verify the value of the money. The Delphi Police Department can be reached at (765) 564-2345 and the Carroll County Sheriff's Department at (765) 564-2413.