Pregnant counterfeiting suspect goes into labor during arrest, Florida cops say

A roundup of people spending fake $100 bills at multiple Florida stores took an unexpected turn when one of the suspects went into labor, according to investigators.

“On scene, her water broke,” Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek reported at a press conference posted online by WPEC.

“She was transported to the hospital and has since given birth, and will be arrested whenever proper arrangements have been made for her and the baby.”

The woman is among four people accused of using fake $100 bills to make small purchases at nine stores in the Stuart area, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

“The scheme was disrupted thanks to a diligent grocery store clerk who spotted one of the counterfeit bills and alerted his manager,” the sheriff’s office said.

“The manager immediately called MCSO giving them enough time to track the suspects before they could inflict more monetary damage. ... Detectives seized thousands of dollars in counterfeit $100 bills hidden inside the suspects’ vehicle, including 13 fake bills stuffed inside a Bible found in the glove box.”

In all, $4,000 in fake money was found in a vehicle being used by the suspects and another $1,400 was recovered from various stores where the money was spent, officials said.

An investigation revealed the counterfeit bills were “legitimate $10 bills that had been bleached and reprinted to appear as $100 bills,” the sheriff’s office said.

The cash looked authentic and standard counterfeit detection pens used by store clerks proved ineffective because the paper was legitimate — “only the printed denomination had been fraudulently altered,” the sheriff’s office said.

In addition to the woman, the suspects included three Broward County men in their 30s, officials said. Charges for the men include: “possessing 10 or more forged bills, organized retail theft, and uttering forged instruments,” Treasure Coast News reports. Each is being held on $155,000 bond.

Investigators are working with the U.S. Secret Service to determine if the suspects are involved with a larger counterfeiting ring, the sheriff’s office said.

Stuart is about a 110-mile drive north from Miami.