Local man arrested for selling counterfeit money

A Fayetteville man has been arrested for selling more than $27,000 in counterfeit money to undercover sheriff’s deputies, officials said.

Xavier Cuellar, 41, of 105 Robin Court was charged with multiple counts of forgery in the first degree and identity fraud, according to sheriff’s investigators.

Cuellar sold the counterfeit bills to undercover agents over a three-month period, investigators said.

Some counterfeit bills have been popping up in the community, and investigators are working to determine if they are linked to Cuellar’s operation, said Inv. Brent Rowan of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.

It is not known if Cuellar was manufacturing the counterfeit bills himself or was getting them from a supplier, Rowan said. Cuellar is not cooperating with officials in the case, officials said.

The undercover deputies would make the purchases based on a percentage of the face value of the counterfeit currency, Rowan said.

Cuellar is being held in the Fayette County Jail without bond, officials said.

The U.S. Secret Service, which investigates crimes involving counterfeit currency, assisted deputies with the case.