Hernando High student arrested in forgery case

A Hernando High School student was arrested Monday on a forgery charge after giving two classmates counterfeit bills in exchange for money, deputies said.

The 16-year-old, whose name is not being released, was transported to the Hernando County Jail and released to his legal guardian, according to the sheriff's office.

The morning of Feb. 17, the teen gave a counterfeit bill to a classmate in the school's cafeteria in exchange for U.S. currency, deputies said.

Less than 30 minutes later, he did the same to a female student, according to an arrest report.

Counterfeit cases regularly are reported to the U.S. Secret Service, but the agency wasn't contacted in this case, said Sgt. Donna Black, a sheriff's spokeswoman.

The defendant, who lives in the 700 block of Bell Avenue in Brooksville, told the female student later that night at church the money he gave her was "fake," deputies said.

The girl had given the counterfeit money to the cashier at the school cafeteria to pay for her lunch that day, according to the report.

The male student also had given a fake bill to the cashier in exchange for change, deputies said.

Both victims did not know the suspect had given them counterfeit money, authorities said.

The bills had no fibers or security features in the notes to include holograms, security threats or color-shifting ink, according to the report.

Deputies said they contacted the boy's legal guardian asking her to respond to the school because the suspect was being arrested.

The teen was charged with uttering forged bills, a third-degree felony, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.