Indian River County - Friday May 20, 2022: Three men are in custody on allegations of passing counterfeit bills at various Indian River County businesses.
Joel Gonzalez, Ronny Camacho Aleman, and Emmanuel Camacho Contreras Jr., were arrested after the Sebastian Police Department issued an alert on their vehicle. The trio are suspected of victimizing more than 150 businesses throughout Florida, Texas, and Louisiana.
Sebastian Police along with deputies from Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, and agents from the U.S. Secret Service coordinated the arrest. They seized "dozens of counterfeit bills, methamphetamine, and other paraphernalia," according to a post on the Indian River County Sheriff's Facebook page. Their investigation is continuing.
The charges against each man are:
Emmanuel Camacho Contreras Jr.:
*Organized Scheme to Defraud
*Possession of Counterfeit Currency (three counts)
*Possession of Methamphetamine
*Total bond: $130,000
*Contreras also has non-extraditable warrants out of Jacksonville, Florida and the State of Tennessee related to fraud.
Ronny Camacho Aleman:
*Organized Scheme to Defraud
*Possession of Counterfeit Currency (three counts)
*Utter Forged or Counterfeit Bill
*Possession of Methamphetamine
*Total bond: $75,000
Joel Gonzalez:
*Organized Scheme to Defraud
*Possession of Counterfeit Currency (three counts)
*Utter Forged or Counterfeit Bill (two counts)
*Possession of Methamphetamine
*Total bond: $90,000 (posted and released on 5/19/22)
If anyone has any information or believes their business may have been a victim of the above subjects, call Indian River County Det. Dennis McKenzie at (772) 978-6202.