Two people have been arrested after they tried to pass a counterfeit hundred-dollar-bill at a Laramie retailer.

According to Laramie Police Commander Mitch Cushman, 39-year-old Chris Holmes and 34-year-old Christy Raines were arrested after police identified them as individuals who had allegedly tried to spend a phony hundred dollar bill on Sunday, July 1st.

Cmdr. Cushman went on to say that it is believed that Holmes and Raines had used another fake hundred-dollar-bill, earlier, on Saturday.  Store employees didn’t notice bill was a fake until after the couple had left.  Cushman says that sometimes counterfeiters will use a smaller bill as a base, and change it’s appearance to look like a larger bill.  In this case, police say that the couple had likely used a five-dollar-bill as a base for the phony hundred.  “They do that in order for the counterfeit-pen marks to work,” Says Cushman.  ” So if someone is checking and they just use the pen mark, then it’ll turn out to be a legitimate bill, because it is.  But if they look at the watermark it’ll be Abe Lincoln instead of Franklin.”

It was when the couple returned to the retailer on Sunday and attempted to spend a second phony bill, police were then able to track the pair down.  Cmdr. Cushman says that store employees refused the bill, and police were able to identify the individuals using a description of their vehicle and surveillance footage.

Police say that the couple was arrested after giving local officers false statements about their identities.  A press release also says that subsequent investigation revealed the couple’s true identities and also tipped officers off to the couple having U.S. Marshal’s warrants for Manufacturing Amphetamines.

Holmes and Raines may face felony counterfeiting charges, which is a federal crime.  Investigations into crimes such as this, once discovered, are turned over to the U. S. Secret Service for processing.

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