Miami Men Accused Of Passing Phony $100 Bills In Ohio
CINCINNATI (CBS4) - A Miami man is on the run, his suspected partner behind bars, after they allegedly went on several spending sprees in Ohio using phony $100 bills.
Hilde Brando Uscategui, 41, and Stuart Rodriguez, 21, reportedly smuggled the counterfeit bills in the U.S. from South American in the headrests of rental cars. They then toured the country, spending the phony bills to buy items and gift cards; in return they received real money in change.
Rodriguez was arrested Wednesday. Authorities are searching for Uscategui.
A federal indictment handed up by a federal grand jury in Cincinnati claims the men passed the fake money between January and September 2010 on "road trips" in Cincinnati and other areas.
Each is charged with conspiracy to pass counterfeit currency, conspiracy to launder money and two counts of passing and possessing counterfeit currency.
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