45 counterfeit $20s used at 2 Salem businesses, police say

The rash of counterfeit bills continues in Westmoreland County, this time in Salem at the Walmart and a Speedway gas station, according to state police.

Troopers said two men were seen entering the Hollywood Boulevard store at 9:30 p.m. Saturday and used 41 counterfeit $20 bills to buy a Shark vacuum and Bose headphones. The two suspects used different checkout lines about 5 minutes apart, police said.

The suspects left in a newer-model black Chevrolet Impala or Malibu, and authorities released surveillance images of them Wednesday. Anyone with information on their identities is asked to call state police in Kiski Valley at 724-697-5780.

Four counterfeit $20 bills were passed at 4:40 p.m. Sunday at the Speedway on Route 22, according to troopers.

Authorities have been seeking to warn businesses and identify suspects for the past couple of months in several counterfeit cash cases around the area.

The first was in January, when a fake $100 bill was used at a Hempfield store. Police said a Hempfield bank reported receiving one with the same serial number that came through with a night deposit. The bills passed standard counterfeit detector pens.

The Salem Walmart was targeted Jan. 7 and 15 by a man who police said used counterfeit $50s and $20s on multiple occasions to buy merchandise. Police said he tried to pass another counterfeit $50 bill Jan. 11 but was caught by a store employee and fled in a Jeep Renegade.

Troopers released surveillance photographs of that suspect earlier this month. It was unclear if he was involved in Saturday’s incident at the store.

In December, Blairsville police in Indiana County reported fake $100 bills were passed at a Tractor Supply store and a Dollar General store in separate incidents. Also, on Dec. 15, state police in Indiana reported a man passed a counterfeit $100 bill at a Sally Beauty store in White Township.

Police said some genuine currency has a security thread — a plastic strip — running from top to bottom that consumers can see to verify authenticity. Counterfeit bills often will have duplicate serial numbers.