Fake US dollars in Caloocan

Police said yesterday that fake US dollars are being distributed by a syndicate in Caloocan.

Inspector Romeo Onte, Station Investigation and Detection Management Bureau (SIDMB) chief, said victim Renato Cordova, 55, driver and apartment owner, residing at 275 4th Street, 11th Avenue, East Grace Park, Caloocan City, personally reported the incident.

Cordova described the suspect as a Chinese-looking female, about 35 to 40 years old, about five feet tall, slightly built and sporting a cropped hair. She is now the subject of a police manhunt.

In his police account, Cordova said the suspect, together with a male companion, allegedly approached him yesterday at around noon saying she was looking for a house to rent. Cordova obliged telling her he actually was leasing one apartment unit in the city. He then asked for a two-month deposit and a month’s advance from the suspect.

The suspect, however, told him she had no cash with her except for some dollar bills. The woman allegedly asked him if he could instead convert two pieces of $100 (serial numbers AB81271935T and AB81271957T) to Philippine pesos. After the dollar conversion (lower than prevailing bank rates, so he allegedly could have a little profit margin on the dollar deal), the suspect asked permission to leave promising to return for her belongings. The suspect never came back.

Cordova learned he was duped when a local foreign exchange dealer told him the US dollars he had were fake. – Jerry Botial