Cortlandville Man Accused of Passing Funny Money

A Cortlandville man is accused of passing fake $100 bills.

New York State Police say 36-year-old Anthony Fenton is charged with felony Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument.

According to a news release issued June 23 by the New York State Police Troop C, Troopers from Homer were called about a man attempting to pass fake currency at the Kwik Fill gas station and convenience store in the Town of Cortlandville.

Authorities say they were given a description of a man who tried to use bogus 100-dollar bills at the store and tracked down Fenton, who matched the suspect description.

State Police say while they were talking to the Cortlandville man on Wednesday, June 22, the Trooper found that Fenton actually had six of the counterfeit $100 bills in his possession.

Fenton was transported to the Cortland County Jail for arraignment.

Meanwhile, authorities are cautioning businesses and private citizens to be on the lookout for bogus money.  Many times, the bills are in smaller denominations, not the $100 bills that were passed this week in Cortland County.

There are some tricks to how to spot fake money.  Clerks and others should be vigilant and look for bills that look a bit off. Loss Prevention officials say one of the first things to look for is if the bill denomination on the bottom right hand corner has color-shifting ink that shifts from green to black or from gold to green, has a watermark that is visible when you hold the bill up to the light, if the bill has blurry borders, printing or text. That’s the sign of funny money. Run your finger across the ink. It should be raised and that’s hard to fake. Look for those little red and blue threads that are woven into the fabric of the bill and, if you wet your finger and run it across the ink, really bad counterfeit money’s print will smear.

Report all suspected counterfeit bills to your local law enforcement agency and do not accept the money if you think it could be fake.