Law enforcement is not amused by funny money.
In less than one week, a counterfeit operation run from a St. Lucie West hotel room churned out between $3,000 and $4,000 in fake currency, according to authorities. Of that, at least $1,000 had been passed around town at any number of local businesses and through face-to-face transactions arranged via social media purchases.
Sheriff Ken Mascara named the suspect who admitted to printing the fake money and two others who denied knowledge of the counterfeiting.
“This was very, very sophisticated,” Sheriff Mascara said. It passed the normal counterfeit tests – the special marker retailers use on large denomination bills.
“We don’t see counterfeit money like this in this amount locally,” Mascara said. “This is probably the biggest I’ve seen since I’ve been sheriff.”
The suspect, identified as 30-year-old Chris Tucker Bertany, used the fake money to make purchases of small items at stores such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot and then return the purchased items to get legitimate cash back. The fake bills were also passed at local fast food establishments and other local stores.
Detective David Felix said Bertany has been involved in counterfeiting for eight to 10 years. “He gets low on funds, he prints some up,” he said, adding that Bertany’s operation is more sophisticated than most due to his years of practice.
So far, authorities from the U.S. Secret Service have linked Bertany’s operation to about $10,000 of counterfeit money passed around Jacksonville and in other connected cases in Orlando. However, authorities believe there are cases in other states. “Counterfeit money is in our local economy,” Det. Felix said. The Sheriff’s Office expects to hear from numerous victims as they begin to realize the cash they have is fake.
Along with finding the counterfeit equipment in Bertany’s Hilton Garden Inn room, authorities discovered a printer used for creating identification cards. Such cards were found with various state IDs on them.
Bertany and two others, identified as Jess David Delay, 40, and Sierra Jackson, 20, were arrested on numerous charges. Bertany faces charges related to counterfeiting and was booked into the county jail in lieu of $8,650 bond. Delay and Jackson face mostly drug-related charges and were each booked into the jail in lieu of $15,750 bond.
They stayed in a separate room from Bertany. In their room, authorities found personal items, drug paraphernalia, methamphetamines, and a CO2 pellet gun.
The Sheriff’s Office was alerted to the rooms by a housekeeper at the St. Lucie West hotel. Authorities obtained search warrants for the rooms and had started the search while the suspects were out. During the search, they arrived in the parking lot in a 2006 Chevy Colorado pickup truck and were detained.
A search of Bertany’s person netted 20 counterfeit bills in $20, $50 and $100 denominations. His vehicle also contained additional counterfeit bills as well as real bills and receipts matching items purchased with counterfeit money.