LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Several southeast Las Vegas Valley small businesses say they’re feeling the effects of fake bills, but officials say these cases are hard to prosecute.
Tacotarian co-owner Kristen Corral said she’s on high alert after two fake $50 bills were used at two separate Tacotarian locations last month.
After altering her staff, Corral says they discovered another fake $50 bill within the same week.
“Someone came in, and the $50 felt a tiny bit off, but it passed the marker test, it passed the UV test,” Corral said.
Corral brought her findings to neighboring businesses and found some of them had also encountered fake bills that same week.
One of those businesses was Pullman Bread, whose manager Kaliman Serrano tells FOX5, “It took a while to discover that it was fake because it was really good, it passed the marker test — if you hold it up to the light it passed that test.”
Both businesses said the fake bills passed the traditional UV light and marker tests and were accepted, which cost the businesses money.
“To get a fake bill, you’re not only losing that change, but you’re losing the product as well. So, you lose twice,” Serrano said.
They said they want whoever is responsible to be caught.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said although they get very few counterfeit cases submitted, they are hard to prosecute because it’s difficult to prove intent.
He said they have to be able to prove that whoever used the bill knew it was fake at the time they used it. He suggests businesses take precautions so they can determine if the bill is fake before they accept it.
FOX5 explained some of the fake bills passed the UV light and marker tests. He said if the technology is truly behind the criminals, there needs to be a greater effort for law enforcement to improve counterfeit detection technology.
The Secret Service is the lead investigative agency when it comes to counterfeit money investigations.
The Special Agent in charge of the Las Vegas Field Office, Karon Ransom, said they can’t discuss ongoing investigations in the valley.
She said “bad actors” are always trying to develop ways to defeat security features, and they are always trying to find ways to defeat those “bad actors.”
She added that any businesses that want training on the security features of real bills can call the Secret Service’s Las Vegas Field Office at 702-868-3000.
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