Bainbridge Public Safety is investigating a report of counterfeit money being passed at a local fast-food restaurant.

On Wednesday evening, Sept. 5, BPS Sgt. Eddie Williams responded to the Hardee’s at 1000 E. Shotwell Street. An employee reported receiving suspicious currency from a man and woman had entered the restaurant earlier that day.

The woman placed an order and paid for it with a $100; the man bought a cup of coffee and paid for it with a $50 bill. The employee stated he marked the bills with a special marker to detect whether the money was real or counterfeit. Both bills initially appeared to be real so they were placed in the cash register

However, the employee later noticed the spots where the marker had touched the bills had changed color, indicating something was wrong. The employee stated he looked at the bills more closely and saw that the bills did not look right to him, so he called the police.

The suspects were described as “looking almost like twins” and had dark skin. The woman had long black hair with a blue hair band and was wearing a yellow tank top and blue jeans. The man was wearing a blue, striped Polo-style shirt and a black and red Polo hat.

The man and woman were traveling in a gray Mazda car and had three small children in the vehicle with them.

Sgt. Williams learned from other restaurant employees that the woman had told them she had just moved to Albany, Ga., from Atlanta and that she had relatives in Bainbridge.

The $50 and $100 bills were taken to Public Safety Headquarters, where Captain Chris Jordan examined them and determined they were indeed counterfeit.

Anyone with more information about who may have passed the counterfeit bills is asked to call BPS Investigator Mark Esquivel at (229) 248-2038.