Indian River County - Wednesday October 19, 2022: Indian River County Sheriffs stopped a stolen out-of-state U-Haul truck Sunday afternoon and arrested three suspects on allegations of passing counterfeit bills.
The trio were arrested after trying to "pass a few counterfeit bills" at a local Tractor Supply outlet, according to a post on the IRC Sheriff's Facebook page. Their stolen U-Haul was detected by the county's license-plate reading technology as the vehicle came off I-95 at the CR 512 exit.
Multiple deputies responded and conducted a traffic stop. They found that the three were using fake identities. A subsequent search of the truck revealed multiple printers, laptops, checks, altered checks, counterfeit bills of various denominations, and other items used to manufacture fraudulent currency.
They were charged with the following:
Shaina Brown
* Unauthorized possession of driver's license /Identification x2
* Possession of a controlled substance
Sean Brown
* Utter forged/counterfeit bill
Joseph Strauss
* Failure to return leased/rental vehicle
* Unauthorized possession of driver's license /Identification x4
* Possession controlled substance
The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are expected.