Copyright held by The John Cooke Fraud Report. Reprint rights are granted with attribution to The John Cooke Fraud Report with a link to this website.
It happened at the Forest Fair Mall in Cincinnati. A well-dressed man went from store to store, purchasing inexpensive items with $100 bills. His luck ran out at the 11th store, Parisian, when a loss-prevention agent called the police and reported the man’s buying patterns – textbook for someone trying to pass counterfeit bills.
When the man realized he was about to be apprehended, he tried to flee, but a detective, uniformed police officers and six security guards were able to catch the suspected crook.
Inside his pockets, authorities found about $1,000 in real cash and a stash of 20 fake $100 bills. Upon closer examination, the fake bills were found to be $1 bills that had been bleached and reprinted to resemble old style $100 bills. What they didn’t find, however, was any kind of identification.
“Mr. John Counterfeit Doe” was booked into the Kenton County Jail where he was held as a federal prisoner. When he refused to have his fingerprints taken, a court order was requested from the US District Court. Secret Service and the US Marshall’s Office suspect the man was working for a counterfeit distribution ring.
© Copyright 1996 Alikim Media