Fake $100 Bills Passed at Four Downtown Stores

A man and woman fled downtown Darien on Friday afternoon, just a step ahead of police, after passing phony $100 bills at a minimum of four stores and trying at a fifth.

Darien police gave this account of the incidents:

An officer on patrol first became aware of the matter when he saw a subject walking in front of the Wells Fargo bank on the Post Road, followed by the owner of the Darien News store around the corner at ,,,,,,,,, Tokeneke Road.

The man being followed, described as a Hispanic male, about 5 foot, five inches in height, of medium build and wearing a dark knit cap and blue jeans, then crossed Center Street and continued south on that street.

The store owner told the officer that the man had just run off after passing a counterfeit bill in the shop. The man had bought a $10 ice scraper with a $100 bill that raised the store owner's suspicions, although he accepted it. The owner later saw the ice scraper on the ground on the Post Road after following the man -- who apparently still had the $90 in change, in real money.

Soon the officer heard over police radio that multiple reports of phony $100 bills had been called in to Darien police. At the Olivette store at 1084 Post Rd., a short (about 5 feet, 4 inches in height) thin Hispanic woman with long dark hair, a dark jacket and a tan scarf bought an $8 item with a phony $100 bill.

The owner of Olivette told people at the Beadz store nearby what had happened and it turned out they had been given a phony $100 bill, too.

The bill contained some of the security measures on real $100 bills, so it took some store owners a bit of time to become alarmed.

A female with the same description also passed a phony "Benjamin" at Chunky Pam's candy shop at 1096 Post Road. An attempt to pass a phony bill at Grieb's Pharmacy was foiled when the store refused to accept it.

The U.S. Treasury issued new $100 bills starting on Oct. 8. You can learn about the security features of the new bills on the federal government's "New Money" website.