KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, Louisiana |Counterfeit hundreds passed in Calcasieu

Counterfeit hundreds passed in Calcasieu

July 27, 2007
By Theresa Schmidt

Counterfeit hundred dollar bills are being passed in Calcasieu parish and so far one person has been arrested.

Twentyeight year old Courtney Statum was arrested and booked on two counts of monetary instrument abuse after allegedly trying to make change for two counterfeit bills at a convenience store in starks, where she used to work. She's out on bond.

Deputies have sent warnings to merchants throughout the area because you cannot detect the bills with those special counterfeit detection pens as Sheriff Tony Mancuso explains.  "The public needs to be aware and our store owners and businesses need to be aware to pay attention because one of the main problems with this is if they use the pen that shows the authenticity of a hundred dollar bill or any other bill it will show that it's authentic."

That's because officials say the fake hundreds are made from real five dollar bills. Normally whoever's picture is on a bill is repeated in a watermark next to the picture.  Mancuso explains on these bills you'll see a different face in the watermark when you hold it up to the light.  "If they would put it up to the light they would notice Abraham Lincoln's face to the right which is what's on a five dollar bill, and it should not be on a hundred dollar bill. Also, if they read the strip, which is very difficult. You have to really pay attention to it and put it up to the light, it's not very simple to read. But it will show also the five dollar bill. "

When you compare the bills to an authentic hundred, the color is different too.

At this point it's not known where the bills originated or how many may turn up in the area. Deputies are distributing flyers to merchants to spread the warning.

If caught passing counterfeit bills an offender can be fined up to one million dollars and or spend ten years in prison.