Couple Charged In Walmart Counterfeit Money Scheme
GIBSONIA, Pa. (KDKA) -- Two people have been arrested after allegedly running a counterfeit money scheme at a local Walmart in Gibsonia.
The store manager originally reported to police on Dec. 23 that the store had received $1000 in fake $100 bills on that day, and, at that time, the store did not know when exactly the bills had been accepted.
The fake bills were reportedly of "poor quality and appeared to be printed on typical printer paper," according to the criminal complaint.
The suspect, Dexter Delean, had made two separate transactions to the same employee, Lasania Mattis, both of whom were later identified during the investigation. CCTV surveillance provided officers with a basic description of the Delean and his vehicle.
Walmart reported to police again on Jan. 3 that the suspect was back in the store around 5:02 p.m. Police arrested Dexter Delean at a traffic stop. Delean admitted to paying Walmart $400 total in counterfeit money.
Lasania Mattis was implicated in all of the counterfeit money schemes by Delean. Mattis apparently denied any involvement and said she did not know who Delean was. Delean stated in his interview that he and Mattis were dating and lived together. The vehicle Delean was using was registered to Mattis.
Both Delean and Mattis have been charged with two counts of forgery, two counts of theft by deception and one count of criminal conspiracy by forgery. They were arraigned on Saturday at 3 a.m. and will face a preliminary hearing on Jan. 15.
Both of their bail amounts have been set at $0.
