FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio -- Two New York men were charged after the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force discovered that they printed counterfeit money in a Fairview Park hotel room, police say.

Bruce Ferreiro, 25, and Johannser Paredes, 23, face felony charges of forgery and possession of criminal tools, Fairview Park police Lt. Paul Shepard said. Their cases were bound over to a Cuyahoga County grand jury.

U.S. Marshals went to the hotel room to serve a warrant in a separate investigation about noon Friday at the Ramada Inn on Brookpark Road near West 220th Street, Shepard said.

Officers found a large amount of money during their search of the hotel room. The investigators discovered the money didn't feel like regular cash and a lot of the bills had the same serial number, Shepard said.

U.S. Marshals contacted the Secret Service. They learned the $2,900 recovered was fake, Shepard said. The officers also found a printer in the room and a stock of stationary paper, he said.

Johannser Paredes

Secret Service declined to pursue a federal criminal case due to the relatively small amount of fake money discovered, Shepard said. Brook Park police were called to take over the investigation.

The men took photocopies of real $50 bills onto stationary paper. They cut the money out of the paper.

The men would go to a store and buy items with the fake $50 bills. Afterwards they would go to a different location of that specific store and return the items. They would get real money in return, Shepard said.

Police say there is no specific reason why they were in the Cleveland area making counterfeit bills. Shepard said they were at the hotel room for only a short period of time and believes they are transient.

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