Poway pair suspected of counterfeiting

The Barstow Desert Dispatch is reporting that the arrests came Wednesday afternoon after police received reports of suspected counterfeit money from several stores at the Tanger Outlet Center. Four persons were detained and later arrested after being identified by store employees, the newspaper reported.

Arrested were Rick Offley, 40, and Lisa Offley, 26, both of Poway; Kevin Fong, 35, of La Mesa and Timothy Best, 30, of Henderson, Nev. The four were booked on suspicion of counterfeiting, burglary, and conspiracy at the Barstow jail, where they remain in lieu of $25,000 bail.

The $100 bills were counterfeits of exceptional quality, the news account said. Barstow Police Officer Mike Hunter said that store employees didn’t get clear results after using counterfeit-detecting markers, and officers eventually went to a local bank, where it was determined that the bills were counterfeit.

Hunter said that the suspects on their way from the San Diego area to Las Vegas when they were arrested, and that no other area businesses outside the outlet mall have made reports of counterfeit currency.

The case is still under investigation by both the Barstow Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service. Anyone with information on the case is urged to call Barstow Police at 760-255-5111. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call the WE-TIP Hotline at 1-800-782-7463 or visit www.wetip.com.