Two men who police think are part of a counterfeiting ring in the New York metropolitan area passed a total of 27 phony $20 bills (amounting to $540) at Stop & Shop in the Goodwives Shopping Center.
The incident happened on Tuesday, July 21, but wasn’t noticed until later, when store security personnel were notified by a bank that the counterfeit bills were in the store’s money deposit. Police were informed on July 24.
Security staff reviewed video surveillance records for July 21 at the store at 25 Old King’s Hwy. N. They saw two males enter the store, the first one at about 1:21 p.m., and saw each buy various small items along with $200 and $300 prepaid Mastercard gift cards.
One of the males (a police report didn’t specify if he was a man or a boy) purchased a $300 card and also bought “Pampers baby fresh wipes” and a birthday card, for a total purchase of $317.95. The other male entered the store at 1:27 p.m. and bought a $200 card along with a snack, lemonade, some candy and a graduation card, for a total purchase of $217.45.
Stop & Shop security staff told police that they believe the men are part of a New Jersey-based counterfeiting ring. The supermarket chain’s security staff are working with New Jersey state police and the U.S. Secret Service.