On 05-03-2023 at approximately 8:55 p.m. city officers responded to 2516 Hwy 70E Dollar General for a female attempting to pass counterfeit cash. Upon arrival one of the officers made contact with an employee who described the person to be a black female wearing a jacket, black pants and purple shoes. The other officer went inside the store to observe the counterfeit bills while the first officer searched around the building to try and locate the female; however, he was unsuccessful. He then went inside to speak with the employee about the incident who was able to show the officer the counterfeit bills and how he observed them to be fake. The employee used a bill marker on the four $20 bills and they all showed a visible marking indicating that they were fake. The employee also used a UV light and held the bills under the light to check the bills and it was further observed two of the bills had the same serial number. The officer seized the counterfeit bills and issued a property receipt. The employee was able to show video footage of the female and it showed a black female with a red white and black jacket, black pants, and purple shoes standing at the register. The employee stated that he checked one of the bills at the register and he told her that something was wrong with one of the bills and the female then left leaving all of the bills.

At a later time city officers responded to Bootleggers on Hwy 70E for a welfare check and when walking up to the door of the establishment, a female matching the description of the female at the Dollar General walked out into the parking lot.  One of the officers that had responded to the earlier call regarding the counterfeit money stopped and questioned the female about the incident. While speaking with the female, the other officer from the Dollar General call arrived on scene and also positively identified the female to be the one from the Dollar General incident.  The female was detained and later identified to be Leslie-Ann Maraj-Young DOB: 01-10-1995. When Ms. Maraj-Young was speaking with officers she stated that she went into the Dollar General with the cash and attempted to put the cash onto a cashapp, realized there was a problem, then left.  Ms. Maraj-Young was then placed into custody and transported to the Cumberland County Justice Center where she was charged with Criminal Simulation. 

The Counterfeit bills were logged into evidence at the Crossville Police Department. Video footage was unable to be obtained at that time and the Dollar General employee stated that he would have to ask his boss and get a copy of the video footage at a later date.