Feds to handle local counterfeiting case

VW independent staff

The Secret Service has taken over the case against two people suspected of passing counterfeit money at businesses in Van Wert.

Van Wert Police Chief Doug Weigle confirmed on Thursday that detectives contacted the Secret Service about the case, and the Secret Service agreed to take over and prosecute at the federal level.

“It is pretty much out of our hands now,” Weigle said. “We will assist the agents in anything they need.”

The two people were taken into custody last weekend, after the Van Wert Police Department executed a search warrant at 118 E. Maple St., Apt. B, and seized counterfeit bills and items used to make counterfeit money. Formal charges have yet to be filed and their names have not been released yet.