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One Kosciusko County man is being charged with forgery for passing counterfeit money while another man will be charged with forgery for manufacturing counterfeit money.
Both charges are Class C felonies.
According to Warsaw Police Department Detective Perry Hunter, Dustin Sloan, 18, of Etna Green, is being charged with passing a single counterfeit $50 bill, and Todd Metz, 29, of Leesburg, will face a single charge of forgery for the manufacturing of money. The charge against Metz was pending as of press time today.
Along with the WPD, the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department and the U.S. Secret Service are involved in the ongoing investigation. Hunter said more arrests are expected in relation to people who passed counterfeit bills at local retail establishments.
A Crime Stoppers tip Hunter received recently helped start the investigation. The informant told Crime Stoppers of a person in Warsaw who had an argument with family members about counterfeit money he was holding. The informant also alluded to a person named "Todd" who was set to leave town soon. Hunter said, "we knew who the Todd was." After interviewing three people, the investigation team reconvened and decided to go to Leesburg and talk to Metz.
When the investigation began, the Secret Service agent came to Warsaw as advisory counsel only since it was undetermined if the case was going to be a local or a federal investigation. The Secret Service is the investigation arm of the U.S. Treasury Department. As officials began questioning people about the counterfeit money, Hunter said, they realized quickly they were pulling in the right people.
Sloan was brought in for questioning for matters unrelated to the counterfeiting. Hunter said Sloan did not make the counterfeit money, but he knowingly passed it.
Sloan was charged for passing the counterfeit $50 bill only after he exchanged the fake money for real money with another individual. That person alerted authorities, who were then able to charge Sloan.
"Dustin's a bit player," said Hunter. Thursday, when Sloan was questioned, he did not cooperate with authorities and officials got an extension to hold him for an additional 72 hours. During a later interview, Hunter said, Sloan admitted to authorities he passed the $50 bill knowing it was not real money.
"We knew from several tips Dustin was holding money. We knew Dustin was passing money," said Hunter.
The investigation of the counterfeit money itself is what led police to Metz, who cooperated fully with the police, Hunter said. Initially, Metz said Sloan participated in the manufacture of the counterfeit money but recanted that statement Monday and took sole responsibility for manufacturing the bills.
The arrests of both Sloan and Metz were "coincidence," Hunter said. Police were led to Metz through interviews with other people. By the time officials located Sloan, they had already interviewed Metz.
Tuesday, police collected more counterfeit bills, this time from Lake City Bank. The fake money had been deposited with the night deposits from two area businesses. That raised the number of cases so far to 10 - eight from local businesses and two from individuals.
Metz told authorities he made more than $5,000 in different denominations. Sloan allegedly received $1,500 in counterfeit money as did another suspect. On his last effort, Hunter said, Metz said he made $5,000 of counterfeit $50 bills alone. However, Metz and others questioned said the money was allegedly destroyed.
"I have reason to believe there still may be some counterfeit $20 bills and $50 bills circulating," Hunter said. Kosciusko County retailers need to look out for the counterfeit money. He said if any business receives counterfeit bills, they should keep the money and notify authorities immediately.
"Kosciusko County retailers need to be vigilant. If they come across any counterfeit bills, they need to contact" police, Hunter said.
He said investigators are confident the counterfeit cases will be solved.
