An expert from the Secret Service determined the money was counterfeit after a store employee refused to accept it, police said
A Linden man was accused of using counterfeit money to purchase a motor vehicle. (File photo)FRANKLIN BOROUGH -- In a case that involved the U.S. Secret Service, a 41-year-old Linden man was charged with using counterfeit money to purchase a motor vehicle from a Franklin Borough, Sussex County woman, borough police said.
Ronhazim H. Skipper is also alleged to have committed insurance fraud and prepared and submitted false documents to the state Department of Motor vehicles, police said.
Skipper had previously pleaded guilty in 1998 to a manslaughter charge in Essex County, according to court records.
In the counterfeiting case, the unnamed woman posted her vehicle for sale on Craigslist on Aug. 22 and sold it to Skipper, who identified himself as Frank White, police said. The pair agreed on a purchase price of $1,800 and he paid for it with cash, police said.
On Sept. 1, the unnamed woman came to Franklin police headquarters to report possibly receiving counterfeit currency from an individual to whom she had sold her motor vehicle, according to police.
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The woman became suspicious of the currency when a local store advised her it could not accept one of the bills she had received from the sale of her vehicle, as it appeared counterfeit, police said.
Franklin detectives worked with experts in genuine currency from the U.S. Secret Service who determined the money was in fact counterfeit, police said.
After an investigation that also involved the Department of Motor Vehicles, detectives identified the man who allegedly bought the vehicle as Skipper.
Skipper was arrested on Thursday at 5:30 a.m. when Linden and Franklin police and the Secret Service executed an arrest warrant at his house.
Skipper was charged with theft by deception, forgery, insurance fraud and providing false information to the Department of Motor Vehicles, police said.
Bail for Skipper was set at $75,000 with no 10 percent option and he is being held at the Sussex County jail.
The vehicle intended to be sold was recovered by the Franklin police in Linden, police said.
Ben Horowitz may be reached at bhorowitz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @HorowitzBen. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
