Patrol Division Chief Ismael Aguon said that there are four cases of counterfeit money being forwarded to the Criminal Investigation Division for investigation.
CID investigator Earlee Decherong in a separate interview said they are now investigating a total of 7 counterfeit cases.Chief Aguon said that there has been an incident of counterfeit money that was reported to the police in the past but more cases of counterfeit incidents are being reported now.“There are counterfeit money being circulated in Palau right now and we would like to remind the public to be more careful and if ever they spot a suspicious bills, call police immediately for assistance or go to the bank for second opinion if they are not sure of the money they are holding,”Aguon said.Aguon said that on October 27 at 8:30 a.m., an employee of Surang Department store called and reported a counterfeit incident involving $50.Aguon said that on October 28 at 11:50 a.m. a cashier of WCTC minimart reported similar incident involving $50.On October 28 at 3:08 p.m., an employee of Midtown gas station reported that someone purchased a gas using a counterfeit bill in the amount of $20.Aguon added that on October 29, another employee of Surang called and reported an attempted use of counterfeit bill in the amount of $50.These cases are now under investigation.Aguon said anyone who has information on this crime could call the Patrol Division at 4881422, CID at 4882412 or Crime Stoppers at 4888477.A few months ago, Horizon’s reporter Bernadette Carreon also encountered a similar incident.Carreon received a counterfeit bill of $20 when she purchased a phone card at a store in T-Dock.She handed the cashier a $100 bill and the cashier gave her $90 that includes counterfeit money.Carreon reported the incident to the police and the incident is now under investigation.
