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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Two people from California were arrested Monday after police said they were purchasing goods from businesses across the Salt Lake Valley using counterfeit currency and then returning the goods for real cash.
Clinton Curry, 34, and Helena Joyce Lucky, 32, each of San Francisco, were booked into Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of forgery and possessing a forgery device, according to jail records.
Both Curry and Lucky were arrested at a Home Depot parking lot, located at 1310 E. Park Centre Drive, after the store’s loss prevention officer called police, according to Cottonwood Heights officer Jeff Potter.
Potter said Curry and Lucky had been at the store Sunday and purchased about $300 to $400 worth of tools using fake currency. They then went to a Home Depot in Salt Lake City and returned the goods for real cash.
A loss prevention officer at the store discovered that the money was fake and took a security camera screenshot of Curry and Lucky, Potter said. The officer then alerted other Home Depot stores across the Wasatch Front, according to Potter.
The two returned to the store Monday and the loss prevention officer recognized them and alerted police. Potter said it appeared the two, identified as Curry and Lucky when they were arrested, had returned to the store to purchase more goods with fake currency.
Police recovered $2,900 in cash and about $2,000 in fake currency after Curry and Lucky were arrested, Potter said. He said the quality of the print job would have made it difficult for a cashier to notice a bill was fake at a quick glance.
"It looked like it was printed maybe off a laser printer — some high-end printer," Potter said. "The bills looked actually pretty good for what they were. If you just looked at them side by side, it was actually hard to tell. You actually had to pick up the money, feel it and take that half-second to look at it to be able to tell it was fake."
Police also recovered recent receipts and items from a J.C. Penny, Designer Shoe Warehouse and Macy’s in the Salt Lake Valley, which they believe may have also been purchased with counterfeit cash, Potter said.
He said additional counts may be added against Curry and Lucky as other agencies investigate possible fraud claims. Potter added he wouldn’t be surprised if the two had used fake currency on their way from California to Utah.
“They rented a car and drove up from San Francisco,” Potter said. “There's probably a slew of stores from here to San Francisco that's got fake cash in it."
Neither Curry or Lucky have any previous criminal history in Utah, according to court records.
