New Orleans man booked with passing counterfeit currency in St. Bernard Parish

A New Orleans man believed to be systematically passing counterfeit $20 and $10 bills in St. Bernard and Jefferson parishes has been arrested, and printing devices and a large amount of fake bills were seized, St. Bernard Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

William Farnbaugh, 46, who lives on Mazant Street, was booked Jan. 30 with monetary instrument abuse for passing counterfeit money and on a fugitive warrant out of Kenner for the same charge.

Following a report of a man trying to use counterfeit money at an Arabi business, Sheriff’s Office detectives performed a traffic stop on a vehicle fitting the description given by a witness. Sheriff Pohlmann said a total of $1,600 in fake $20 and $10 bills were seized from Farnbaugh, along with a counterfeit bill detector pen and ink cartridges.

Farnbaugh is being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison on a $50,000 bond. He also has prior arrests for counterfeiting in Louisiana and Florida.

St. Bernard Parish detectives are still looking into the case and said more charges or arrests could be made. Anyone with information pertaining to the case is asked to call the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501 or Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111.