11 incidents of counterfeit money reported in Hamilton

A Hamilton woman thought she was doing a good deed Saturday when she gave a disabled man change for a $100 bill, but she soon learned the cash was worth nothing.

The woman, who requested her name not be used for fear of retribution, said she felt sorry for the man standing outside of Circle K on Pleasant Avenue. But when she went to the bank to get change for the $100 bill, she learned that she was the victim.

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“I just think people ought to know about this. I am on a fixed income. It is just a real hardship for us,” she said. The woman said she had heard there have been other recent incidents of fake money passed at businesses in the city.

She was right.

Since March 13, Hamilton police have received 11 reports of counterfeit bills showing up in the area, in different denominations.

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Rally’s and McDonald’s restaurants as well as Kroger, all on Erie Boulevard; Richard’s Pizza on Dixie Highway; Maggard’s Grocery on Central Avenue; True West Coffee on High Street; and the Family Dollar on Pleasant Avenue have all reported receiving fake money, or an attempt at passing it, in the past three months, according to police records.

In addition, the Domino’s Pizza on Symmes Road reported two counterfeit $50 bills were passed.

Sgt. Brian Robinson said counterfeit bill reports are not unusual.

“These reports are not rare by any means,” Robinson said. “Typically we take the report and if the business still has the bill, we tag it into property and pass them along to the Secret Service.”

The Secret Service handles most investigations into counterfeit money, he added.

“We take immediate action if we encounter them purposely being passed or find immediate evidence of their production,” Robinson said.

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