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Thursday, March 28, 2024
How to spot a counterfeit
How to spot a counterfeit

An Ocala woman was arrested after trying to scam three Gainesville Wal-Mart stores by depositing $220 worth of counterfeit bills onto a debit card.

Officers arrested 19-year-old Creshaun Michelle Cohen on charges of petit theft, using a counterfeit bill and scheming to defraud and obtain property, according to a Gainesville Police Department arrest report. 

On Saturday, at about 4:45 p.m., GPD went to the Wal-Mart at 3570 SW Archer Road, where Cohen tried to deposit $200 onto a Wal-Mart VISA debit card belonging to Briana Hayes, according to the report.

Half of the cash was found to be counterfeit. Four were $10 bills with the same serial number, another four $10 bills shared a different serial number and two other $10 bills also had matching serial numbers.

A search of past transactions on the card showed Cohen deposited $100 on the same day at about 2:39 p.m. to the same card. According to the report, $40 of that cash had the same serial-number strain. 

Police also found two additional receipts at a Wal-Mart located at 1800 NE 12th Ave., where Cohen deposited $100 cash onto the card on Saturday at 4:07 p.m. 

The bills also contained the same strain of serial numbers.

Cohen also made another deposit at the 5700 NW 23rd St. Wal-Mart location with the same card on Saturday at about 3:39 p.m., where $40 of the $100 deposit was found to be fake, according to the report. 

The faulty bills had the same serial numbers as the others. Footage from the store shows Cohen depositing the money in a transaction.

After questioning, Cohen admitted to getting the money from a friend, knowing the bills were fake, according to the report.

In total, $220 of counterfeit bills were found.

Officers booked Cohen into the Alachua County Jail on Saturday at 11:31 p.m. As of press time, her bond is set at $85,000.  

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[A version of this story ran on page 9 on 7/1/2014 under the headline "Police accuse woman of using counterfeit bills at local store"]

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