Port Clinton men face charges for counterfeit bills

PORT CLINTON - Two local men are facing charges following an investigation into multiple reports of counterfeit currency being passed at area businesses in the past few days.

Gabriel Wagner, 18, of Port Clinton, was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of first-degree misdemeanor theft.

Jason Elliot, 20, of Port Clinton, was arrested Thursday and charged with one count each of theft and falsification, both first-degree misdemeanors.

According to reports by the Port Clinton Police Department, Wagner admitted to knowingly passing fake money at the Wendy’s restaurant on East Perry Street and Pat’s Party Mart drive-thru on Fulton Street.

A cashier at Wendy’s told police that Wagner and Elliot entered the restaurant on Tuesday and Wagner asked if they could break a $100 bill. The cashier said they could, and both men proceeded to purchase a single Frosty frozen dessert, each paying with a separate counterfeit $100 bill.

The bills were not identified as fake until the register was cashed out that evening, at which point the manager contacted police.

An employee at Pat’s Party Mart also found two counterfeit $100 bills that were used for purchases on Tuesday. When described by police, the employee said a man matching Wagner’s description had made a purchase with a $100 bill that evening and that he may have been recorded on security video.

All four of the bills collected by police from those incidents shared the same serial number and has “FOR MOTION PICTURE USE ONLY” printed on the front.

According to the report, in the security video Wagner can be seen turning over the bill before handing it to the cashier. Police also said Wagner “appeared to be nervous” during the transaction.

Wagner was questioned by police on Wednesday, when he reportedly admitted to knowingly passing the counterfeit bills. He was subsequently arrested. Elliot was arrested and charged on Thursday. Both men were taken to the Ottawa County Detention Facility.

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