OXNARD : Doctored Bills Used in Changer Scam

The owner of an Oxnard coin laundry got taken to the cleaners by someone who manipulated paper currency in a way that tricked his change machines into paying off like Las Vegas slots.

Marcello Onias, who owns the Launderland Coin Laundry at 310 W. Pleasant Valley Road, said he put about $2,000 in two change machines Jan. 20. When he returned to the store about 8 a.m. the next morning, Onias noticed the “empty” lights on both machines were flashing.

“I knew right then that I had lost some money, because I don’t make that much,” he said. “Even if I have a great day, the changer is not going to run out that quick.”

Inside the machine, Onias found 114 hybrid bills that had been made by cutting apart tens, fives and ones and taping each bill back together so the denominations on each end differed. He said that one of his changers reads only the first half of the bill that enters the machine, the other the second half.

“They spend $11, but they get $20 back,” Onias said. “That’s the heart of my operation, my changer. They break into my changer, they clean out all my money.”

Oxnard police confiscated the bills and are processing them for possible fingerprints, according to police reports. Onias said the theft probably took place last Thursday morning, between when the doors automatically unlock at 6 a.m. and when he arrived two hours later.

The owner said the dealer who sold him the changers told him that it would cost $1,000 per machine to upgrade the equipment so it reads the entire face of the bill. Onias says he can’t afford to improve the equipment, so he has reset the machines so they only accept $1 bills.

But he says that is a less than perfect solution.

“It takes a lot of hassle, because a lot of people have $10s, $20s and $5s, and when I’m not around, it’s hard for them to get change. Then I lose my customers.”