$20 Bills Prove Bogus : Million-Dollar Find? Rubbish!
Two bulldozer operators at the county dump near Brea ran their machine over a plastic bag Wednesday morning, tearing it open and revealing what officials estimate is $1 million in $20 bills.
The bad news: They are counterfeit $20 bills.
Bill Ebert of the Secret Service’s Los Angeles office said the bogus money appears to be part of a batch that has been passed in Southern California over the last three years.
He estimated that $25,000 worth of the bad bills has been passed during that time.
“That’s not a lot,” he said, adding that the passing has tapered off in recent months.
Most of the counterfeit money is still in four-bill sheets. “The printer doesn’t sell it (to distributors) in sheet form,” Ebert said. “It appears that someone involved in the manufacture has dumped it. Maybe we won’t see it on the street anymore.
“We’ve been arresting quite a few people involved with passing it. Possibly whoever has it feels the heat’s on or we’re getting close to them.
“We have quite a few undercover operations going. Perhaps we struck a nerve.”
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