A spike in reports of counterfeit U.S. currency being passed in Hilo and Puna has police advising businesses to take a closer look at the paper money they’re taking in during transactions.
A spike in reports of counterfeit U.S. currency being passed in Hilo and Puna has police advising businesses to take a closer look at the paper money they’re taking in during transactions.
“We want businesses to know what’s going on, to be more aware when people are coming through to pay attention to the money that’s coming in,” Lt. Robert Fujitake of the Hilo Community Policing Unit said Thursday.
In May, police investigated 23 counterfeit cases in Hilo and Puna compared to seven cases in April and only two cases in the first three months of 2016.
“I don’t know the amount of actual bills we’ve taken in, but we’ve had reports from multiple businesses, including convenience stores and mini-marts, gas stations and fast-food restaurants in Hilo and in Puna,” Fujitake said. He said the counterfeit currency recovered is “mostly $20 bills” but there have been bogus bills discovered in all denominations between $5 and $100. “I have seen a couple of the bills myself and the quality is pretty good, but in a lot of cases I’ve reviewed, the businesses and restaurants are noticing the counterfeits later that day or the next day when they’re doing their end-of-the-day count.”
There’s a reason those who pass bogus bills prefer businesses such as gas stations, convenience stores and fast-food outlets, said Lt. Greg Esteban of the Hilo Criminal Investigations Section.
“Suspects’ mindsets are usually to get in and out — pass the note, go unnoticed and then leave the area with their change in regular currency and some merchandise,” Esteban explained.
A 32-year-old man was arrested April 14 after allegedly passing a $100 bill at the Burger King on Makaala Street in Hilo. Paul Alisa was charged with first-degree forgery, a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and second-degree theft, a Class C felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment.
Alisa’s case is pending in Hilo Circuit Court.
“That’s the only arrest we have so far,” Fujitake said. “I know that there’s some other cases that are ongoing that have suspects that are in the … stage between routing it to local prosecutors and (U.S.) Secret Service.”
Fujitake said there also are counterfeit cases where police haven’t yet identified suspects.
“There are leads that officers are working on in some of these investigations,” he said.
Esteban said it’s rare to get reports of counterfeit $50 and $100 bills.
“Suspects usually don’t want to take a chance at passing large notes because it’s going to draw attention,” he said. “… We usually see the smaller denominations, the fives, the tens, the twenties. We don’t usually see anything larger than that.”
Many businesses, including fast-food restaurants and convenience stores, use the counterfeit-detector pens on bills they receive, especially larger ones, but sometimes circumstances don’t allow for maximum security.
“At peak times, when it’s busier, stores want to keep customers in the lines moving and these notes don’t get noticed until they’re closing up their till at the end of the shift,” Esteban said.
While 23 cases of counterfeit bills represents an identifiable spike in counterfeit cases, Esteban said there’s “no defined pattern on when these occur.”
“We’ll get a counterfeit note that’s passed at a store and those are usually more of an isolated type of case,” he said. “A suspect’s identified trying to pass a counterfeit note. But if there’s a pattern that we have the same type of note, say, counterfeit $20 bills that have the same serial numbers on them. If we’ve got a series of them, we may … have a network of individuals who are passing the same type of counterfeit notes. And if there’s a large number of counterfeit notes, we’ll confer with Secret Service and see if they’ll assist us with the investigation.”
Police remind people to look for the following features to guard against receiving counterfeit bills:
• Color-shifting ink: Tilt the front of the bill back and forth to see the color on the numeral on the lower right corner change from a distinct green to black and back again. Remember, the new $5 note does not have color-shifting ink.
• Watermark: Hold the bill up to a light source to see the watermark in the blank space to the right of the portrait. Because the watermark is in the paper, not printed on it, the watermark can also be seen from the reverse side.
• Security thread: Verify the presence of a thin strip running from top to bottom. It is a strip of plastic actually embedded in, not printed on, the paper. The thread is visible only when you hold the bill up to a light source and glows a specific color under ultraviolet light.
• Comparison: Check the note against currency you know to be authentic and look for differences in the features above as well as in the texture of the paper.
If you suspect a note is counterfeit, note the passer’s description, including gender, approximate age, height, weight, build, hair color and clothing, as well as the descriptions of any companions and the license number of any vehicles used. Limit the handling of the note and carefully place it in a protective covering, such as an envelope.
Anyone who receives a counterfeit bill is urged to call the Police Department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311 to file a police report, as is anyone with information about who is producing or passing the bogus bills. Those who prefer anonymity can call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 and might be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.