‘Funny money’ no laughing matter, police say

Police throughout Whitley County are warning local residents to beware of funny money circulating throughout the community.
Officers in Corbin, Williamsburg, and Whitley County have received reports over the last 10 days of more than a dozen bogus bills ranging from a $1 bill through $50 bills in circulation. Late Tuesday, police confirmed they opened three more cases related to counterfeit bills in the Corbin area.
Williamsburg Police Detective Wayne Bird said most of the bills are either $5, $10, or $20.
Williamsburg Police Officer Bobby Freeman said he is investigating between six and 10 cases involving counterfeit bills while Sheriff’s Detective Chuck Davis is investigating three cases.
Corbin Police Detective Tim Helton is investigating seven to eight cases with bills of varying denominations. All told, investigators say that the counterfeit currency has been passed Corbin, Whitley County, Williamsburg, Jellico and businesses in Campbell County, TN.
“It’s a mess,” Helton said. “It’s really starting to break loose on us.”
All three cases Tuesday originated from money being passed by individuals at Corbin businesses. Helton declined to give any further details on the most recent investigations.
Authorities think the bills are being produced in either Whitley County, or possibly from northern Tennessee.
Helton said the bills aren’t identical, but ones with the same serial numbers have popped up in various local investigations both in Whitley County and Jellico.
The U.S. Secret Service was in Williamsburg Friday to investigate, Bird noted.
Helton said authorities are investigating to see if the local cases are connected, and whether the bills are all being made by the same person since the quality of the bogus bills has varied.
Helton said the “decent quality” reproductions he has encountered are still missing some characteristics, such as the hologram or watermark.
“The bills also feel funny to the common touch,” he said. “Some of them are actually pretty good quality while others are pretty low grade work.”
Bird noted most of the bills he has encountered were “pretty awful” forgeries.
He said the bills are being passed at various places like tobacco shacks and Wal-Mart.
Police are also investigating a claim that one bill popped up at an office in the courthouse. Another was found in the offering plate at a Corbin church two weeks ago.
Bird said that it is unusual to see so many denominations popping up. Normally, most of the bogus bills are $20, or more. Police believe the money is likely being generated with the use of computers.
“This is the most I have ever dealt with,” Freeman added.
Bird said there was a fake $1 bill that was passed at Maiden’s Grocery near Jellico last week, and that it is very unusual to encounter a fake $1.
Helton said that people should check money when they get it to make sure that it is real. Pens can be purchased that can be marked on bills to indicate whether it is authentic. In addition, holograms or watermarks can also be checked.
“If they do get a suspicious bill, they should notify law enforcement and give them as much information as they can in terms of where and how they got it,” Helton said. “We want to try to see exactly where all the money is coming from, and possibly who is bringing the money in.”