Mentor Police Arrest One, Keep Looking for Two in Counterfeit Scam

Mentor Police arrested a man for passing fake bills last week, but officers are still looking for two others they believe has been working in a two-county scam.

Police arrested 20-year-old Branden M. Knight Thursday after he and at least two other men were accused of passing counterfeit money June 20 at Mentor fast-food restaurants like McDonald's, Chic-fil-A and both of the city's Taco Bell locations, Lt. Tom Powers said. Knight, a Jefferson resident, was charged with two counts of criminal simulation, a first-degree misdemeanor.

Powers said Knight was identified after the department posted surveillance videos on Mentor's Facebook page. Police have the names of the two other men, but have yet to locate them. He said there could be one or two other affected restaurants.

Madison Village Police and the Ashtabula County Sheriff's Department also investigating the same group for other incidents, Powers said.

"We have information that they were all together that day, going to all of those locations," Powers said. "One, or sometimes two, would go in together."

Powers said counterfeit passing is more common because it is easy to scan and print fake money, though the bills are easier to spot than in previous times.

"They're poorly manufactured, but with ability to do it, you see much more of it now," he said. "Usually it was $50 or $100 bills of a higher quality before. What we're seeing now is they're doing it to support their drug habit.

"They'll buy a $1 item, get their $19 in change to support their habit."