Businessman helps bust counterfeit ring

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- A Surf City businessman inadvertently helped

authorities uncover a Las Vegas counterfeiting operation when he noticed

a patron using a fake $20 bill.

Henry Kwon, 52, owner of Bill’s Liquor Store on Beach Boulevard, said

Leroy Raffaelli, 31, of Las Vegas, came into his store Jan. 1 and

purchased about $5 worth of stuff, including a bottle of water and some

candy. He paid for it with a $20 bill.

“I told him it was fake, and he ran out,” Kwon said.

That was when Kwon, an 11-year resident, gave chase, pursuing

Raffaelli on foot until police caught up with him.

Because of Kwon’s persistence, Huntington Beach detectives and U.S.

Secret Service agents arrested Raffaelli and fellow Las Vegas resident

Charles LaRue, 51, seizing $49,280 worth of fake $20 and $100 bills

created using inkjet printers.

The money, as well as stolen credit cards, personal and commercial

checks, fake driver’s licenses, various personal financial records of

victims and other counterfeiting paraphernalia, was found in cars

belonging to the two men parked outside a Westminster hotel room.

“This is a case of great cooperative effort between the Huntington

Beach Police, the Secret Service and United States attorney’s office,”

said Robert Brenner, the resident agent in charge of Orange County.

After the Huntington Beach arrests, Secret Service agents traced the

case through parts of Southern California, Ohio, Florida and Nevada,

where a counterfeiting plant was seized at a Las Vegas residence.

LaRue and Raffaelli were arraigned in a Santa Ana courtroom last week,

and are awaiting trial. Meanwhile, Secret Service agents are searching

for 47-year-old Terry Hensley, also of Las Vegas, in connection with the

counterfeiting ring.

Huntington Beach Det. James Dowling issued the arrest warrants for the

two men, and said this is the largest counterfeiting case the city has

ever seen.

“Normally, we have isolated reports of counterfeit money or checks,

and most times the person with the fake money is unaware of it,” he said.

Kwon agreed, adding he has reported counterfeit bills in the past, but

the customer is usually as surprised as he is and winds up paying with a

legal tender.

If found guilty, Raffaelli and LaRue face a maximum of up to 15 years

in prison for conspiracy to manufacture and pass counterfeit currency.

Raffaelli is also charged with attempting to pass counterfeit money,

which also carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.