MAR 10, 2010: ROCK HILL, SC -- Hundreds of fake bills have been distributed all over Rock Hill. Today, officers say they have found the source. The investigation, which has lasted more than a month, even involves US Secret Service agents. CN2's Dianne Gallagher has more on how the counterfeiters got caught.
"They print the money, cut it up and distribute it $1500 at a time," said Keith Dugan with the Rock Hill Police.
Fake tens and twenties have been making their way around Rock Hill for the last month.
"It does look real, however it doesn't have all the signature trademarks they put inside of money," Dugan said.
According to Detective Dugan, those less than perfect qualities led officers straight to the centre of a major counterfeiting ring thanks to a few stray bills and a big discovery at the City's Mulching Station.
"The guys down there located a bag of trash with counterfeit money. We sent it down to script service as cut up, counterfeit money and we got a fingerprint match," Dugan says.
So far, eight people have been arrested. Police say in early February, Shannon Phillips began passing fake $20 bills at bars and fast food restaurants. Officers say after investigating, they arrested five of her friends for the same crime.
According to reports, all of them received the money from a woman named Mercedes Rawlinson. Detectives claim she sold them five fake twenties for two real ones. Rawlinson told police she bought the fake cash from Taybron. Secret Service agents say Taybron's prints match those found on the bills inside that bag.
"Tabron is still involved with other friends in the Rock Hill area, so we're not completely done with this investigation yet," Dugan added.
Officers say they used the cash at places like Bar II and McDonalds. Often times, crooks think they can scam places like these because they're either dark or fast paced so they think no one will notice this isn't real.
Detectives say they made the money by using regular office printer at a house in a nearby city.
"These crimes are not hard to do and they are easy to catch. They're never done properly," said Dugan
In total, detectives believe more than $5,000 in phony money was distributed around Rock Hill. They say the majority of that sum has now been recovered.
