Three charged with passing counterfeit money

Vielman Virula-Soto

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office arrested three men Monday for passing counterfeit $100 bills at two local Walgreen stores.

Deputies responded to a call at the Walgreen Drug Store at 4290 U.S. 41 East at about 4 p.m. Monday, where two men were trying to buy merchandise with a fake $100 bill, the Sheriff’s Office reported. The men were identified as Vielman Virula-Soto, 25, of 5357 Warren St., and Luciano Aleman-Serrano, 23, whose address was not listed on his arrest report.

Another man, Juan Ayala-Cruz, 27, whose address also was not listed on his arrest report, was with Virula-Soto and Aleman-Serrano.

Juan Ayala-Cruz

According to a Sheriff’s Office report, a deputy at the scene and a Secret Service agent were able to determine the bill was counterfeit because of the absence of specific security features usually associated with a real bill.

Inside Virula-Soto’s car deputies found 17 other counterfeit $100 bills and receipts from another Walgreen store at 12780 U.S. 41 East. Deputies went to the second store, found three more fake $100 bills and collected a security video of the men’s purchases, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

During an interview with investigators, Virula-Soto took out his wallet and produced one more fake $100 bill.

Luciano Aleman-Serrano

All three men were arrested and taken to the Naples Jail Center. Virula-Soto was charged with possession of 10 or more forged bills, passing a forged or counterfeit bill and possession of a forged driver’s license or ID card.

Aleman-Serrano and Ayala-Cruz each was charged with two counts of passing a forged or counterfeit bill.