New kind of counterfeit bills found in Barry County
October 2, 2019
Vinnie Roberts
Certain crimes you expect to see in a small town. Petty theft, municipal violations and traffic violations are often the order of the day among the criminal element in Barry County. However, over the last few months, one deputy of the Barry County Sheriff’s Department has come across something out of the ordinary.
According to Lieutenant Randy Kalbaugh, sheriff’s deputy and part-time member of the Washburn police department, several counterfeit bills have found their way into the registers of small businesses in both Washburn and Seligman.
“This is a method that I have personally never seen before,” said Kalbaugh.
Kalbaugh went on to explain that many counterfeit bills seized by local police departments in the past have all had simple methods of detection, due to them having either been reproduced from inferior materials or having been manually altered in some ways.
These new counterfeits appear to have also been altered in a less detectable way. According to Kalbaugh, the perpetrators of this crime appear to be washing out one dollar bills and reprinting them with designs from larger denominations.
“You can almost make out the one on some of them,” said Kalbaugh. “They’re tough to catch, when you mark them with a counterfeit pen, it comes out as a real bill, but most modern bills have a magnetic strip on either side of the president’s face.”
According to the lieutenant, a counterfeit $50 bill was seized at Country Package in Washburn.
Kalbaugh also reports having recently been contacted by People’s Community Bank in Seligman after they found that they were in possession of a counterfeit $20 bill that had been altered in a similar way. Upon investigation, it was found that this bill had originally been given to Lucky T’s, a gas station located in Seligman.
“I’ve worked counterfeit cases before,” explained Kalbaugh. “The people that use this stuff usually try and catch the business when they’re busy so that they’re less likely to catch it. They just slide them the fake money and the cashier doesn’t have time to catch it.”
Kalbaugh went on to explain that while there have been local counterfeiters before, that most of the cases he has typically dealt with involved prop money, or bills that were sold legally as prop pieces being passed off as real currency.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we started seeing more in the future,” continued Kalbaugh.
When reached for comment, Barry County Chief Deputy Angela Cole stated that no further cases of counterfeit bills have been reported to Sheriff’s department.
Police and government officials in Cassville, Exeter and Purdy have all stated that no new cases of counterfeit currency have been reported in their municipalities at this time.
If you or anyone you know is in possession of, or suspects a person of producing counterfeit bills, contact the Barry County Sheriff’s Office at (417) 847-3121 or Barry County Non-Emergency Dispatch at (417) 847-4911.
Vinnie Roberts
Certain crimes you expect to see in a small town. Petty theft, municipal violations and traffic violations are often the order of the day among the criminal element in Barry County. However, over the last few months, one deputy of the Barry County Sheriff’s Department has come across something out of the ordinary.
According to Lieutenant Randy Kalbaugh, sheriff’s deputy and part-time member of the Washburn police department, several counterfeit bills have found their way into the registers of small businesses in both Washburn and Seligman.
“This is a method that I have personally never seen before,” said Kalbaugh.
Kalbaugh went on to explain that many counterfeit bills seized by local police departments in the past have all had simple methods of detection, due to them having either been reproduced from inferior materials or having been manually altered in some ways.
These new counterfeits appear to have also been altered in a less detectable way. According to Kalbaugh, the perpetrators of this crime appear to be washing out one dollar bills and reprinting them with designs from larger denominations.
“You can almost make out the one on some of them,” said Kalbaugh. “They’re tough to catch, when you mark them with a counterfeit pen, it comes out as a real bill, but most modern bills have a magnetic strip on either side of the president’s face.”
According to the lieutenant, a counterfeit $50 bill was seized at Country Package in Washburn.
Kalbaugh also reports having recently been contacted by People’s Community Bank in Seligman after they found that they were in possession of a counterfeit $20 bill that had been altered in a similar way. Upon investigation, it was found that this bill had originally been given to Lucky T’s, a gas station located in Seligman.
“I’ve worked counterfeit cases before,” explained Kalbaugh. “The people that use this stuff usually try and catch the business when they’re busy so that they’re less likely to catch it. They just slide them the fake money and the cashier doesn’t have time to catch it.”
Kalbaugh went on to explain that while there have been local counterfeiters before, that most of the cases he has typically dealt with involved prop money, or bills that were sold legally as prop pieces being passed off as real currency.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we started seeing more in the future,” continued Kalbaugh.
When reached for comment, Barry County Chief Deputy Angela Cole stated that no further cases of counterfeit bills have been reported to Sheriff’s department.
Police and government officials in Cassville, Exeter and Purdy have all stated that no new cases of counterfeit currency have been reported in their municipalities at this time.
If you or anyone you know is in possession of, or suspects a person of producing counterfeit bills, contact the Barry County Sheriff’s Office at (417) 847-3121 or Barry County Non-Emergency Dispatch at (417) 847-4911.