Muskogee Man Arrested For Making Counterfeit Money

Police in Muskogee hope the amount of counterfeit money circulating around town will go down after officers arrest a man who they suspect was making it. 

While investigators searched his home, they found a lot more than fake cash. 

What Muskogee police found inside Ricky Banks' home led officers to also arrest him on a child endangerment complaint. 

While searching Banks' home, Muskogee police officers found printers, laptops, counterfeit checks and fake bills.

But Officer Lincoln Anderson said they found a lot more than the tools someone would use to make counterfeit money. 

"They found some meth, syringes, everything you would typically see in a drug house," Anderson said. 

Investigators also found a 4-year-old child who is now in DHS custody. 

Anderson said the Secret Service is stepping in to take a closer look at the counterfeit money. 

"They have some resources as far as tracking the serial numbers on the cash, so they're working that end of it," Anderson said. 

"It's a small town. There's not a lot of crime here. Its kind of surprising," said Muskogee resident Ubaldo Hernandez.

Hernandez said he came across counterfeit money in Muskogee last year and got police involved right away. 

"I was working at McDonald's, and I was doing the drive-thru taking cash. And there was a - it looked like a regular $100, but it had Chinese symbols stamped on it in red," Hernandez said. 

Anderson said several businesses around town reported the fake money to police in the past couple of months. 

And he adds that people and businesses should stay vigilant because counterfeit money can always be out on the streets. 

"I'm just glad that the guy got arrested and isn't out there doing bad things in this little town that I call home," Hernandez.

If you come across counterfeit money, call the Muskogee police department or stop by to turn it in.