It appears the problem of counterfeit cash circulating through the Syracuse area is growing, and affecting more businesses. A little over a week ago, Syracuse Police issued an alert about phony $100 bills.
Senator Chuck Schumer stopped by a Byrne Dairy store in Camillus Monday, an example of 10 stores that have been victimized in the last 30 days.
Empire brewing company general manager Breanne Barzee says they’ve received the funny money…
"It's just really hard for local small businesses to absorb the loss from the counterfeit money. We've seen more counterfeit money as of late. So, it's definitely more of a prevalent issue now."
Barzee says it can be difficult in a busy, dimly lit environment to spot counterfeit bills. Schumer is calling on the secret service to bolster its staff and efforts in Onondaga County. That’s the agency responsible for investigating and tracking counterfeit cash.
In Camillus, police chief Thomas Winn says they’ve investigated 25 cases of fake $100 bills over the past two years.
"The resources that we use to investigate these crimes take up valuable time that we could be out solving other crimes in the community that quite frankly are more important to our residents, such as house break-ins, car break-ins, robberies."
While cases of counterfeit money have increased nationwide in recent years, Senator Schumer says there has been a spike in activity in Central New York. He says recent changes to the $100 bill, combined with advanced computers and printers, mean it’s easier than ever for criminals to produce nearly genuine-looking bills.
