Counterfeit bills are back in circulation in Holmes Beach.
Tortilla Bay Southwest Grill, at 5318 Marina Drive, took in a fake $20 July 2, during one of the restaurant’s busiest weekends of the year, owner Zoe Whitcomb said.
Another merchant in the Island Shopping Center, Sun & Surf Lifestyle Apparel, at 5418 Marina Drive, took in three fake $20s at about 3 p.m. July 3.
Whitcomb learned July 5 the bill was counterfeit from her bank, Wells Fargo, when depositing her weekend receipts.
She said a teller at Wells Fargo Bank, 5327 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, July 5, told her they’d seen “a rash of fake $20 and $50s lately.”
The counterfeit bill discovered in Tortilla Bay’s deposits was smaller and the texture smoother than a real bill — and only the second counterfeit in nine years, Whitcomb said.
Her employees did not recall a suspect.
Sun & Surf, however, described the suspect as a white male of medium build in his late 30s, approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall, according to a Holmes Beach Police Department report. HBPD took the counterfeit bills into evidence.
HBPD Chief Bill Tokajer said the Sun & Surf incident was the only recent counterfeit report he’d seen, and Detective Sgt. Brian Hall is conducting an investigation.
Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce administrator Cathy Pizzo said that since a counterfeit outbreak about six weeks ago, “We haven’t received any calls from any of our members about it. We haven’t heard anything.”
In the spring, Mike Coleman, the owner of Poppo’s Taqueria, with locations in Anna Maria and Bradenton, said he encountered two fake $20 bills at his Lockwood Ridge location.
In April, Harry Continental Kitchens of Longboat Key took a $50 counterfeit bill.
The Manatee County sheriff’s public information director Dave Bristow said the sheriff’s office received 19 counterfeit reports — $20s, $50s and $100s — between Jan. 1 and April 14 and an additional 15 reports since April.
The counterfeit bill at Harry’s was pre-marked with a counterfeit pen, indicating it tested OK. Tortilla Bay’s fake bill was not pre-marked.
Whitcomb said she’s ordered markers and advised her staff to hold $20 bills to the light to check for the watermark.
Though helpful to determine if the paper is genuine, the pens are not foolproof, according to the U.S. Secret Service.
Agent Billy Joe Powers and Bradenton Beach Police Department Detective Sgt. Lenard Diaz warn of a common scheme not detected by the pens in which counterfeiters bleach U.S. currency and use ink on top the bleached rag bond to create higher denominations.
Powers said the Holmes Beach incidents may be “anecdotal” and noted no uptick in counterfeiting.
Nonetheless, he warned merchants to be aware.
“If it feels or looks odd, go forward and look for the security features,” Powers said.
The U.S. Department of Treasury website recommends becoming acquainted with the security features of currency, including holograms, changing colors of some of the features and raised portions — some seen only when holding the bills up to light.
Anyone who receives a counterfeit bill should contact the U.S. Secret Service and their local police department.
For more information on U.S. currency security features, go online at: uscurrency.gov/seven-denominations.