Friday, September 27, 2002
‘Fake money-maker’ nabbed
By Minerva B. Gerodias
A RUBBER stamp-maker was arrested by Talamban police for allegedly producing fake P500 and $100 bills, traveler’s checks, and transfer certificate of titles in Banilad, Cebu City.
Armed with a search warrant issued by Executive Judge Galicano Ariesgado, police arrested Richard Lacernada, 54, during a raid at 6 a.m. yesterday in his house in Univille Subdivision, Banilad.
Seized were the counterfeit P500 bills, a $100 bill, transfer certificate of title, a traveler’s check, uncut fake dollar bills, watermarks for dollar bills, acetate for $100 bills, colored pencils, and silkscreen.
The raid was in cooperation with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas representative Andres Carvajal.
Lacernada, who also uses the name Richard Uy, admitted he made fake dollars on the request of a friend from Ozamis City.
“They’ve been there since last year. They had a problem they can’t solve. They needed help how to make the watermark appear only when placed against the light,” Lacernada explained.
He said he does not know the name of his friend but knows that he’s from Ozamis and a member of a syndicate distributing fake money.
He explained that the 13 P500 fake bills were not his products but were paid to him by his friend.
“I give them away when somebody asks for it. They only pay it with real money when the work is done,” he said.
But Talamban police believe that Lacernada was the one producing the bills based on the information they received.
He has a computer in his house and the police believe he uses it to make fake money. But they did not seize the computer because the diskette used in formatting the fake money wasn’t there.
Acting Cebu City Police Office Director Josephus Angan said the city police will investigate further to determine if Lacernada is a member of a syndicate.
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