Counterfeiters Nabbed at Bridgepointe Target

Police arrested two women at a Bridgepointe Shopping Center Target store for passing counterfeit bills.

Leticia Haynes, 32, of San Francisco reportedly made several trips to the store, leaving bogus bills at the registers with each transaction. Alerted to a possible fraud shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday, San Mateo police working with the U.S. Secret Service closed in, taking Haynes into custody. They also arrested Danielle Mark, 32, of San Pablo, discovered in the parking lot and identified as her driver and accomplice.

Both women were booked into San Mateo County Jail on suspicion of passing counterfeit bills, burglary, and conspiracy.

Detectives siezed fistfuls of counterfeit $50 and $100 bills. Secret Service Agents apprehended equipment used to manufacture the fake bills at a residence linked to the two women.

A federal offense, manufacturing bogus money can earn counterfeiters a sentence of up to 15 years.

With the development of increasingly sophisticated printing equipment, counterfeiting has escalated in recent years, according to the Secret Service. Last year, its agents pulled $182 million in bogus currency -- more than twice the amount of the previous year.

Genuine bills have a thin strip of fluorescent polyester thread woven into the fabric that in glows a different color for each denomination under a UV light.

In February, the federal government introduced a new design for $100 bills, containing color-shifting ink and plastic strips with 3-D images.