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Police closing in on counterfeiting ring

Jennifer Frew | The News Herald

Morganton Public Safety Investigator Calvin Daniels gives a press brief on the counterfeit case the department is examining.

By Julie N. Chang | The News Herald

Published: November 15, 2009

MORGANTON - Local investigators and the U.S. Secret Service are on the lookout for a band of counterfeiters who have been using fake bills at approximately 20 businesses since June.

Morganton Department of Public Safety Investigator Calvin Daniels said a group of about five people have been producing and using counterfeit bills in various denominations.

A break came earlier this week when an astute cashier at McDonald's on Carbon City Road noticed the fake bill, Daniels said. The cashier wrote down a description of the suspect and the license plate number.

Daniels said the cashier felt the difference between the fake bill and a real bill.

Investigators on Friday confiscated items consistent with producing counterfeit money from a Morganton residence, Daniels said. A computer, printer, paper and a few bills were confiscated.

The group of suspects has printed and used thousands of dollars at several businesses in the county, Daniels said. The latest victim was Tokyo Diner, where someone used two counterfeit bills.

Daniels said he has contacted other counties that have encountered a rash of counterfeit money recently.

Charges are pending for the suspects, Daniels said.