A Loogootee man has been charged with felony counterfeiting after he allegedly used counterfeit bills to pay for farm equipment he purchased from a Greene County man.

Andrew Phillip Hopkins, 35, Loogootee, was arrested by Deputy Camron Frye of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department on Sunday, June 27. A warrant had been issued for the arrest of Hopkins as a result of an investigation by Indiana State Police Master Trooper G. B. Wilson.

According to Trooper Wilson, Hopkins bought a John Deere Model 494A four-row planter and a bale spear from a man in Greene County for a total price of $550. At some point after the transaction was completed and the two men had parted ways, the Greene County man discovered that five of the $20 bills from the sale had red “Chinese writing” on them and he learned they were counterfeit bills. He said they were mixed in with the other bills.

When the Greene County man confronted Hopkins over the phone, Hopkins allegedly said he got all the money at the Crane Credit Union ATM in Loogootee. But Trooper Wilson subpoenaed bank records and reported Hopkins’ explanation contradicted the bank records that showed only a $100 withdrawal from that ATM on March 28.

When Trooper Wilson met with the branch manager of the Loogootee branch of the credit union, she mixed the five counterfeit bills in with a stack of cash in a demonstration that showed the automatic counter stopped at each counterfeit bill. The manager also said they double-check each fresh stack that comes from the Fed before loading the bills into the ATM. The manager said it would be nearly impossible that a single counterfeit bill would come from their ATM, let alone five in one transaction.

After a criminal case was filed against Hopkins, a warrant was issued, he was taken into custody and booked into the Greene County Jail, where his bond was set at $4,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He posted $400 and was released from jail the same day as his arrest.

Hopkins was scheduled to appear in Greene Superior Court for an initial hearing yesterday morning, Thursday, July 8, but he retained an attorney to represent him and the defense filed a motion to waive the initial hearing.

Hopkins has been charged with counterfeiting, a Level 6 felony.