Northwest Minn. men accused of using fake $100 bills at casino

THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. - Two Thief River Falls men face counterfeiting charges after police say they used fake $100 bills to get real money from a casino.

Ricardo Martinez, 28, and Bobby Vinton Peralta, 42, had first appearances Monday in Pennington County District Court. Court documents detail how surveillance video at the Seven Clans Casino southeast of Thief River Falls caught the men trying to pass off three $100 bills to cashiers on or about Aug. 1.

In the video, Peralta is seen fanning out the bills in front of the cashier, who later broke the fake bills down into real $20 bills, according to court documents. The video also shows the two men looking at each other and laughing, and at one point, Peralta hands Martinez some of the $300 he received from the cashier, court documents said.

Martinez faces up to five years in prison on a felony count of aiding and abetting counterfeiting of currency, while Peralta, who was charged with a gross misdemeanor charge of counterfeiting, could spend a year in jail if convicted.

Court documents indicate the cashier knew the men, but it didn't appear charges had been filed against the casino employee as of Tuesday.