Couple arrested for making $28,000 fake bills at home

(ECNS) -- A couple was arrested for printing over 200,000 yuan (about $27,750) of fake money at home in Fuzhou City, Jiangxi Province, which has topped the trending list on Chinese social media Weibo on Tuesday.

In September 2023, Fuzhou police received multiple reports from market vendors alleging the use of counterfeit money in urban areas. "We received five such reports within a week, but normally, the entire city might see only one or two cases per month,"said a police officer, adding that they launched an investigation into the case.

Local police noted that most of the reported incidents occurred in rural market areas lacking public surveillance cameras, which complicated the case.

Eventually, a vendor reported that a woman had used counterfeit money at a farmers' market. A nearby surveillance camera happened to capture the entire transaction, providing critical evidence.

The suspect handed an elderly vendor a genuine bill. After the vendor verified it, the suspect claimed to have smaller change and took the real money back. Then, the suspect pretended not to have enough change and substituted the counterfeit bill, tricking the vendor into giving back real cash as change, police officer Chen Hao described the criminal process.

Such actions have aroused anger on the internet, with critics accusing the suspects of purposely deceiving old vendors, the main group using cash as digital pay becomes dominant.

After an extensive investigation, police quickly identified He and Xu, a couple with prior convictions for using counterfeit money. The pair was swiftly apprehended, with counterfeit currencies, as well as ink, printers, paper cutters and other tools, found in their home.

"The total fake money amounted to more than 200,000 yuan. It took us more than four hours to count," said police officer Liu Tao.

"They would first identify which farmers' market had a market day, then drive there early in the morning," Chen explained.

"The couple disguised themselves and used counterfeit currency in purchasing goods and receiving change in return. Their daily spending ranged from 300 to 3,000 yuan, using all the fake money they printed without keeping any, indicating their counter-surveillance awareness," he added.

At present, the batch of counterfeit currency has not been found outside of Jiangxi, with police following up on the case.

(Zhang Dongfang)