Feds: Man turned $5 bills into $100s in scheme

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Federal investigators say two eastern Pennsylvania men took part in a $70,000 counterfeiting operation that turned $5 bills into $100 bills.

A grand jury on Wednesday indicted 31-year-old Nieves Mariano, of Honduras and Bethlehem, and 29-year-old Felix Patino, of Allentown, in the counterfeiting scheme.

Authorities say Mariano bleached about 700 $5 bills and then printed $100 bills on the blank paper. Mariano is charged with passing the bills at stores.

Each man faces more than $1 million in fines.