Deputies: Dunedin Counterfeiters Shut Down

Detectives at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office say a Dunedin counterfeiting ring has been cracked wide open following a five-month-long investigation.

The investigation into the case began in August when deputies arrested a 17-year-old boy from Dunedin for passing along fake bills to a local merchant. A few days later, a 50-year-old woman, Gina V. Norman, was arrested on a similar charge. All was quiet until Dec. 18, when Joseph Samson, 32, was caught with counterfeit cash.

Detectives say all three were arrested independently after each passed phony cash at local businesses.

With arrests piling up, detectives began to investigate, hoping to find a source.

A fourth arrest in the case came Tuesday when information came in that a woman had passed fake money at the Oasis Mini-Mart, 1401 Pinehurst Drive in Dunedin. Briana Wilson, 20, was charged in that case.

“Through various investigative techniques, detectives determined that the bills passed by the four arrested suspects had been obtained from a single source,” an email to media from the sheriff’s office stated. “The source was identified as 24-year-old Jose Carlos Rodriguez.”

Rodriguez was brought into custody Tuesday and a subsequent search of his 950 San Christopher Drive home was conducted Wednesday.

Once inside Rodriguez’s home, detectives say they found cash, a laptop computer, cocaine and marijuana. The seized items are being examined and further charges against Rodriguez beyond uttering forged bills may be forthcoming.

Jose Rodriguez/Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office

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