Counterfeiting Operations: 7 arrested for fake bills

A counterfeiting operation that distributed more than $200,000 in fake $100 bills was brought down in part after phony money used at five Columbus-area stores was confiscated, police said. Four Indianapolis residents were arrested Dec. 1 on the southeast side of Columbus on forgery charges, accused of passing the fake bills in Edinburgh and Columbus. The counterfeiting activity, which occurred in recent months, took place primarily in central Indiana, police said. Additionally, a Columbus man was among three people arrested during a Dec. 10 raid at a home on the east side of Indianapolis, where counterfeit $100 bills, guns, ammunition and drug paraphernalia were discovered, said Gary Durham, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Indianapolis field office.