DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A Daytona convenience store clerk told WFTV how she helped catch an accused counterfeiter.
For the average person it's hard to tell the difference between real money and the counterfeit money police found. But the store manager WFTV talked to could tell, and told police where to find him printing money.
With a case of beer and a wallet full of fake bills, the suspect Peter Russell was seen in a surveillance video trying to act like a normal customer.
"He was very, very calm and he kept his head down most of the time," said Margaret Suleiman, store clerk.
But it's the second time Suleiman has seen him in her store spending counterfeit money.
"The first time it might be an accident, but twice it was obvious he was printing money," said Suleiman.
That is what Suleiman was thinking while she was ringing up Russell. The surveillance video reveals the suspect trying to keep the money covered with a piece of paper until he hands it over. Suleiman knows it's fake, but takes it to play cool.
"You could see that the colors were not the same and the feeling and the texture of the paper was different," said Suleiman, store clerk.
Soon after he left, Suleiman's husband checked nearby hotels and found Russell's car at the Flamingo Motel where they told police to go. They went inside and found counterfeit bills like his fake $10 bill uncut from the paper it was printed on.
Investigators found bills in envelopes, in boxes, and bags. In all it totaled $97,000 and it's uncertain how much of that is fake. Police arrested Russell for having the money and cocaine in his motel room.
"I'm glad he's caught. I'm glad he's off the streets," said Suleiman.
The Secret Service is now looking into Russell who is charged with forging bills. He is in jail with a $36,000 bond.