MOUNTAIN HOME - Deputies are investigating reports of counterfeit money in Baxter County after officials at a Mountain Home bank found three fake $20 bills passed as deposits, Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery said.
According to tellers, the bills felt thicker than normal, the ink ran or smudged when the bills were wet, and the money “tended to separate or peel apart,” Montgomery said.
Bank personnel used marker pens that detect counterfeit bills, but the pens were unable to identify the three $20 bills as fake, the sheriff said. Authorities did not name the bank involved.
Baxter County deputies have investigated other counterfeit cases in the past, Montgomery said.
In April 2011, the sheriff’s office received calls about fake $10 bills passed at area convenience stores. Deputies also arrested a Salesville man April 29 after they said he used a counterfeit $100 bill to buy items at a Baxter County store. Montgomery said the bill’s ink and paper appeared fake, and it did not contain a magnetic strip found in authentic bills.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 10 on 07/31/2013