Jan. 29—Two out-of-county men face felony charges after investigators said they used fake money — movie-prop $100 bills — to buy items from a seller in Berks County who advertised it on Facebook Marketplace.
Spring Township police arrested 22-year-old Justin Warner of Mountville, Lancaster County, who is accused of cheating a man out of $2,020 for a gaming monitor and computer after meeting him at a store parking lot in the township on Jan. 22.
State police at Hamburg arrested 18-year-old Tyler M. Tegge of Sunbury, Northumberland County, who is accused of cheating a Shartlesville man out of $800 for an engine for a small motorcycle.
The cases appear unrelated, investigators said, other than both defendants are alleged to have used fake currency in the thefts. In both cases, the fake $100 bills included the words “FOR MOTION PICTURE USE ONLY” printed on the opposite side of the image of Benjamin Franklin.
Warner and Tegge remained free to await a hearing in their cases following arraignment Jan. 24 and Jan. 25, respectively, before District Judge Sandra Fegley in Reading Central Court.
They face charges of forgery, theft by deception, receiving stolen property and related counts.
Detective Timothy S. Katzaman of Spring Township police investigated the case that resulted in charges against Warner.
According to Katzaman:
On Jan. 19, the victim began communicating via Facebook Marketplace, an e-commerce platform, with a person using the Facebook profile “Justin Warner,” regarding the victim’s advertisement of an LG Ultra Gear gaming monitor and an RTX 2090 Custom PC.
They agreed on a sale price of $2,040.
They met the evening of Jan. 22 in a parking lot on West Wyomissing Boulevard.
The victim showed the buyer, later identified as Warner, the box containing the monitor and computer. He added a keyboard and a computer mouse to the transaction.
Warner counted out the money in front of the victim.
After the exchange, Warner got into his car and drove toward the boulevard. The victim noticed that the money he was given did not feel right.
He approached Warner, who was sitting at a traffic light, and knocked on the car window. He said Warner responded, “OK,” before driving off.
The victim was given 20 fake $100 bills and two $20 bills, only one of which was actual currency.
The identical serial numbers are telltale signs the bills are fake.
The victim called police, and Katzaman met with him the next day.
He discovered that someone using the Facebook profile of “Justin Warner” was advertising the sale of the same monitor as the one the victim had sold to Warner a day earlier. The asking price was $400.
An undercover detective initiated contact with the seller and they agreed to a price of $380.
On Jan. 24, the detective arranged to meet the seller at the Adamstown Park and Ride lot along Routes 222 and 272 in Brecknock Township.
Katzaman set up surveillance and saw a car driven by Warner pull up next to the undercover detectives’ vehicle. Warner was taken into custody after officers approached and saw the monitor in the car.
Investigators confiscated the monitor after Warner consented to a search of his car. Warner admitted using prop money he bought online to buy the items from the seller two days earlier.
Trooper Max Seiler investigated the case that resulted in charges against Tegge.
According to Seiler:
The victim was selling an engine for a pit bike, a small motorcycle often used for motocross racing or stunts.
He received a Facebook message from someone using the profile of “Tyler Standsby” interested in buying the engine.
They arranged for the prospective buyer to come to the seller’s Shartlesville residence to inspect the engine.
On Jan. 9, the buyer, later identified as Tegge, arrived at the seller’s home in an older-model, dark-colored Saturn Ion. He was wearing what he described as a COVID mask. The victim further described him as a white male, 18 to 20 years old.
He said the buyer counted out eight $100 bills and handed him $800 for the engine.
Before inspecting the bills, the victim helped Tegge load the engine into the sedan through the rear driver’s side door. Before Tegge left, the victim saw two white after-market speakers under the rear windshield — information that would later prove helpful in identifying the suspect.
Seiler learned that the Facebook Profile name “Tyler Standsby” was associated with a YouTube channel owned by Tegge. One of the videos shows a white male installing aftermarket LED lights into a dark-colored Saturn Ion.
During the video, two white after-market speakers can be seen under the rear windshield of the car as the victim’s described inside the Tegge’s car.
The license plate was also shown in the video. The registration of the car was traced to a relative of Tegge’s with an address in Snyder County.
The victim was shown a photo lineup that included Tegge’s picture. He identified Tegge as the person who bought the engine using movie-prop money.
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