Group Caught with Fake $100 Bills in South Brunswick

South Brunswick, NJ - South Brunswick Police captured three Trenton men and one juvenile Monday evening who had been driving around the township trying to spend fake $100 bills at local businesses, police announced Wednesday afternoon.

At around 4:30 p.m. Monday, police were called to the Stop & Shop in Summerfield Plaza off Rt. 522 for a group attempting to cash a fraudulent $100 dollar bill at the grocery store. By the time police got there, the group had fled.

But only about one hour later, at 5:50 p.m., police were called to Café Amici on Davidson Mill Road, where employees said a group tried to use a $100 bill to pay for a $10 takeout order. A Café Amici employee said the group fled when confronted that the money was fake. The suspects walked out of Café Amici, and warned another suspect who was in a nearby nail salon by saying, "Cinderella, it's time to go," police said. All four suspects got into a brown Pontiac Grand Am and fled towards Rt. 130.

Several minutes later Detective Monica Shearer stopped the car on Rt. 522. An investigation determined that Clifton Ownes, 35, Kyle Silvas, 24, Brian Brown, 23, and a 17-year-old female, all from Trenton, had been passing fraudulent money. The group would go into a business, order something for under $20 and use a fake $100 bill to pay for it.

Brown was charged with forgery and theft of services. All the remaining suspects were charged with conspiracy to commit a crime. All were released pending their first court appearances. Police are looking into if the group had committed similar frauds in the area.