PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — Three men from Georgia had more than $12,000 in counterfeit bills and were trying to do some shopping in Panama City, police said Tuesday.
The men were arrested on Saturday after a loss prevention officer at a local business called the police.
Quintus Dean Riley and Frederick Eugene Stephens were seen selecting items in the store and proceeding to check out, paying for more than $1,200 in goods with counterfeit $50 bills.
“The items were transferred to a waiting vehicle in the parking lot driven by Brandon Gerrard Frazer,” police wrote. Detectives caught the men on scene and located a fabric bag in the vehicle containing 86 counterfeit $100 bills and 72 counterfeit $50 bills, totaling more than $12,000 in counterfeit money, police wrote.
Riley, 51, was charged with uttering a false bank note, ongoing scheme to defraud and grand theft, along with possession of more than 10 counterfeit notes.
Stephens, 51, was charged with uttering a false bank note, ongoing scheme to defraud, petit theft and possession of more than 10 counterfeit notes.
Frazer, 45, was charged with principal to utter a false bank note, principal to ongoing scheme to defraud, principal to petit theft, principal to grand theft and possession of more than 10 counterfeit notes.
Anyone with information in this case is asked to call the Panama City Police Department at 850-872-3100, or they can report tips anonymously via smartphone by downloading the “Panama City PD” Tip411 app from the iOS or Google Play stores