A Harlingen man is behind bars after he allegedly tried to buy gasoline and cigarettes using counterfeit bills.
Harlingen police arrested 26-year-old Justin Grayson on forgery of a government instrument charge on Wednesday.
Investigators told Action 4 News that it happened at the Stripes store off West Harrison Avenue and North F Street around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.
An employee flagged down an officer and reported that Grayson tried to pay for gasoline and cigarettes using fake money.
A clerk reported that the money didn’t look right so she used a counterfeit bill pen to check it and learned they were fake.
Officers said Grayson had a total of 16 counterfeit bills in denominations ranging from $5 to $100 dollars.
Investigators said that the $20 dollar bills had matching serial numbers appeared to be faded in color.
The Harlingen man allegedly told police that he had made the counterfeit bill with a copy machine at home earlier Wednesday morning.
Grayson appeared before a Harlingen municipal judge on Thursday morning where he was issued a $16,000 dollar bond.
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