Man Charged With Passing Fake $20s at Fairgrounds Flea Market

A Raleigh man has been charged with passing counterfeit money at the State Fairgrounds Flea Market, authorities said.

Michael Scott McAllister is charged with forgery of notes and obtaining property under false pretenses, according to the State Capitol Police.

An investigation by the State Police, the State Fairgrounds Police and the U.S. Secret Service revealed a home-based operation in which a man produced illegal copies of $20 bills, some of which were used in Dec. 31 transactions with Flea Market vendors.

“These bills looked very realistic, but a vendor became suspicious and refused to accept one,” State Capitol Police Chief Scott Hunter said in a statement. “He notified a State Fairgrounds police officer, who held the suspect until State Capitol Police arrived to investigate.”

State Capitol Police officers are responsible for processing incidents reported by the State Fairgrounds Police.

Hunter said the suspect successfully passed at least one counterfeit bill in a small purchase and received legal bills as change.

“The suspect stated he attempted this because he just wanted to try it,” Hunter said. “He thought he had a good chance of passing these bills at the Fairgrounds without detection, but he was wrong.”

A search of a Raleigh residence turned up a computer printer and a quantity of cash, authorities said.