Fremont hit with phony $20 bills

A number of phony $20 bills have been popping up in Fremont, Neb., and authorities there say small businesses in particular should be on the alert.

Fremont Police Lt. Glen Still said the bills at first glance appear to be legitimate.

“I looked at one, and it looked pretty authentic,” Still said. “When you start looking for the security features and take time to get the feel of the bill, you notice pretty quickly that it's counterfeit.”

As of Thursday morning, approximately nine phony $20 bills had surfaced in Fremont in the past week, Still said.

Fremont Police Det. Matt Hultquist, who is leading the investigation, said the bills also have been discovered in other parts of Dodge County.

The Sheriff's Office, Nebraska State Patrol and U.S. Secret Service also are investigating the counterfeit bills.

“We think that this is probably a group of people working together,” Hultquist said. “We are working on some leads.”

Hultquist said he is checking out a tip that some phony bills were passed at Fremont garage sales.

Small businesses are less likely to have the special marking pens that easily identify the phony bills, he said, and should be especially careful of accepting bills from strangers.

“We just want to warn (small businesses) that they should be cautious of who they are taking money from,” Hultquist said. “Larger businesses have generally caught the (counterfeit) bills.”

Dodge County Attorney Paul Vaughan said counterfeiters face charges from state and federal authorities.

In Nebraska, Vaughan said, counterfeiters are often charged with first-degree forgery and face one to 20 years in prison.

Under federal law, counterfeiting is a felony punishable by up to 12 years in prison and a fine of as much as $250,000.

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444-1272, kevin.cole@owh.com