Brownsville man accused of manufacturing counterfeit money

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Brownsville police arrested a man accused of manufacturing counterfeit dollar bills.

Gene Leslie Rapier Jr. , 45, was charged Tuesday with seven counts of forgery and unlawful use of a criminal instrument, according to a news release from the Brownsville Police Department.

The investigation began after police received "numerous" police reports from local businesses complaining that people were paying, or attempting to pay, for services using fake money. These local businesses included grocery stores, hotels, gas stations and restaurants.

"On several of these reports, it was noted that a male subject displaying a tattoo of a teardrop on the side of his left eye was passing or attempting to pass the fake money," the release stated.

On April 9, Rapier was interviewed, where he provided a video-recorded confession to manufacturing counterfeit U.S. dollar bills, police said. Rapier said he had been counterfeiting the money for several months, and voluntarily provided a "full, detailed demonstration" of how he was making the $20, $50 and $100 bills.

Police searched his residence, where they seized the instruments that he was using to make the fake money.