NEWS

4 nabbed in counterfeiting probe

Todd Hill
Reporter

BUCYRUS — Four young people from Detroit arrested over the weekend near the Walmart in Bucyrus are suspects in a counterfeiting probe touching several Ohio communities.

Around midnight Saturday, Bucyrus Police Officer Sam Caldwell responded to a call at Walmart on East Mansfield Street concerning a small group of people who allegedly tried to pass a counterfeit $100 bill in the store. According to Police Chief David Koepke, Officer Caldwell found several more phony $100 bills before the night was through.

"Within minutes Officer Caldwell determined they were the suspects. The vehicle was in the parking lot, and it was stopped on East Mansfield Street near Route 30," Koepke said.

"At least one of them gave a false ID. The vehicle is registered in Michigan to the parent of one of them."

Keair I. Key, 25; Damon D. Blocker, 26; Destiny N. Thomas, 21; and a female who claimed to be 18, all of Detroit, were arrested.

"We're waiting on Detroit for confirmation of their identities," Koepke said.

The police chief said $3,000 in actual cash, 37 counterfeit $100 bills, and prepaid phone cards and money cards were found in the vehicle. The four are also persons of interest in counterfeit cases in the Ohio cities of Bryan, in the northwest corner of the state; Moraine and Huber Heights, near Dayton; Whitehall and Westerville in the Columbus area; and Upper Sandusky. The four are now in the Crawford County jail.

"They're being held for investigation with formal charges pending, which include complicity, receiving stolen property, theft by deception and falsification. And there may be more serious charges coming on the federal level. The Secret Service makes an important distinction between a single counterfeit bill and an alleged operation," Koepke said.

In addition to protecting the president and other national leaders, the U.S. Secret Service investigates a variety of financial crimes. Its role in uncovering counterfeiting goes back to the Civil War.

The $100 bill, which features a portrait of Benjamin Franklin, is the most counterfeited bill in world (the $20 bill is the top target of counterfeiters in the U.S.). It has also been the largest denomination in circulation in this country since 1969, when the $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 bills were retired.

The bill, most recently redesigned in 2013, contains multiple features designed to counter counterfeiters, including two security ribbons, one of which is three-dimensional, woven into the bill; color-shifting designs and numerals; a watermark; and tiny words micro-printed on various parts of the bill, including Franklin's collar.

thill3@nncogannett.com

419-563-9225

Twitter: @ToddHillMNJ