LESSONS IN PHONY MONEY JUNIOR HIGH TEACHERS WARN AGAINST FAKES.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - With the recent arrests of five junior high students accused of passing counterfeit $5 and $10 bills on campus, teachers addressed students on Monday, explaining that circulating fake money is a crime.

Meanwhile, investigators plan to turn over the case against the 12- and 13-year-old boys to the District Attorney's Office this week for possible prosecution, Los Angeles County sheriff's Detective Pat O'Neill said.

O'Neill dismissed the cases at Arroyo Seco and Rio Norte junior highs as isolated incidents.

``It's not a sophisticated crime ring,'' he said. ``It's not organized crime in Santa Clarita. I'm sure the parents are appalled at what the kids did.''

Last week, the four students at Rio Norte and one from Arroyo Seco were booked for investigation of making or putting counterfeit currency into circulation, then released, O'Neill said.

According to the state penal code, the offense is a misdemeanor the first time, then a felony count on subsequent violations.

At Rio Norte Junior High on Monday, some homeroom teachers discussed the incident with students and explained that counterfeiting U.S. currency violates state and federal laws.

``They're good kids that made some bad decisions,'' Principal John Krinkel said. ``The decisions that are involved can have very severe consequences. ... But we're dealing with what are basically good kids who shouldn't be stigmatized by this behavior.''

The four boys arrested at Rio Norte on Friday had as many as a dozen counterfeit $5 bills, some of which were used for cafeteria purchases, a sheriff's deputy said. The day before, an Arroyo Seco student was arrested after trying to pass a phony $10 bill at the lunch line, O'Neill said.

Authorities said at least one of the students used a home computer to create the phony currency. Each side of an actual bill was scanned, printed separately on sheets of paper, then glued together. Some of the fake bills were crumpled to make them look more real.

``These fakes were pretty bad,'' O'Neill said. ``But you have to realize at the schools, you have 10- to 13-year-old kids taking the money. ... They might not be as sophisticated. The adults caught it right away.''

While counterfeiting legal tender can be a serious offense, O'Neill downplayed the incident as a prank taken too far.

``The thing just ran rampant and no one stopped to think of the consequences,'' he said. ``If a teacher found it before they spent it, there wouldn't have been any arrests.''

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(color) A fake $5 bill, bottom, was one of a dozen counterfeits passed by students at Rio Norte Junior High last week. A real bill is shown at top. Five students at two schools are accused of passing fake $5 and $10 bills.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer