The number of counterfeit money cases is on the rise, and warrants the presence of federal investigators on island, he added.
“We already have leads regarding the suspects and investigations are underway to pin them down,” Tarkong said.
“The advanced technology has made it easier for the perpetrators to print out counterfeit money. All they need is a high performance photo copying machine or a printer, and they can do it, but this is a serious federal offense.”
He added that during the holiday season, DPS received eight formal complaints from victims who received counterfeit money, but only one arrest has been made so far.
“When you make counterfeit money, you are messing with the federal government,” Tarkong said.
He said majority of the victims who filed complaints regarding counterfeit money are store and business establishment owners.
He said the rise in the circulation of counterfeit money usually occurs when there’s a rise in drug-related and burglary cases.
“These crimes go hand in hand,” he said.
Most of the counterfeit money are in denominations of 5, 10, 50 and 100 dollar bills.
Tarkong said the perpetrators start with printing small denominations before moving on to higher denominations.
To help raise public awareness, two special agents from the U.S. Secret Service conducted two training sessions yesterday for law enforcers and business establishment owners in the Saipan Chamber of Commerce training hall.
The training was conducted by Mac Bostic and Virgil Gus Reichle.
Tarkong said they want to conduct more training to help consumers and retailers prevent the circulation of fake money, and to catch the perpetrators.
He said the training was made possible through Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Jim Arenovski, who is also the president of the CNMI Crime Stoppers.
