Counterfeit Money Found at McKinley

By Karen Vanegas and Leah Smith

Over the past few weeks, there have been two incidents where counterfeit money has been discovered at McKinley. The most recent, a counterfeit $20, was found in the lunch line register in the cafeteria. The cafeteria supervisor, Ms. Williams, reported the incident to Officers Dean and Freyer at the end of the day when she counted the money. The officers alerted the United States Secret Service about the incident. The suspect has not been identified.

Two weeks prior to this incident, two students got caught trying to pass a phony five dollar bill. Assistant principal Mr. Demarchi found the counterfeit bill in our school when it fell out of the student's pocket. It was passed along to another student. Suspecting the bill was counterfeit, Mr. Demarchi gave it to Officers Fryer and Dean. The officers questioned the student who had the bill, who said another student had just given it to him.

"Thanks to the sophisticated camera system, we were able to find the exact time, location of the transaction and where the counterfeit money fell out of the student's pocket," said Fryer.

"Printing or passing of counterfeit money is a federal offense. The maximum penalty is fifteen years in prison."

It took only one day to find the students responsible that time. From the investigation, it was concluded that the student printed the five dollar bill from his home printer.

Fortunately for the students, the United States Secret Service considered this a situation that could be handled by school administration.

"The students' identity can't be revealed. Disciplinary actions must remain confidential," said Mr. Demarchi.

"The students are young and they considered this a prank. They didn't know of the consequences of their actions. We cannot call these students in for questioning about the incident with the counterfeit $20, because there isn't enough information. We don't know when the transaction occurred," said officer Fryer.

Dean and Fryer encourage any students who have any information or knowledge about who is bringing counterfeit money into the school to write it down and put it in the MPD box in the office, or come directly to them.

The officers are ordering a device to help the cafeteria workers detect fake money.

"It's sad that we have to go through all of this in a school cafeteria," said Officer Dean. "There is free lunch for people who are in financial need."

There are many student vendors in our school and many who purchase from them. This advice goes for both when handling money:

* Make sure the portrait looks life-like and stands out from the background. The counterfeit portrait blends in with the background.

* Make sure your money has tiny red and blue lines embedded throughout it. On counterfeit money the red and blue lines are usually printed on the surface and are not embedded throughout.

* Make sure the quality of the paper and the smell are authentic.

Officer Dean has this to say to student counterfeiters: "It's all fun and games until you're caught. Don't play the game if you don't want to do the time."

By Anna Kinsman |  April 18, 2008; 9:32 AM ET News
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