Police say they have stopped a counterfeiting ring and have arrested three men, who are now facing felony charges after bring arraigned.

The men, including two 47-year-olds from Pittsburgh and a 41-year-old from Cleveland were charged with identity theft, check fraud, retail crime and counterfeiting after their arrest near the Tanger Outlets in Tilton, New Hampshire, on Wednesday, Aug. 24.

According to police, they were running a sophisticated and organized crime operation of counterfeiting which traveled throughout numerous cities in varying states. Authorities had been notified of the alleged crimes after a regional manager for Kohl's noticed the men using checks from other states to buy large quantities of pricey items at the outlets.

After investigation, the checks were purportedly found to be counterfeit and had allegedly been used at seven stores successfully, police said. The checks were used in purchases from $200 to $800 and totaled more than $3,000.

Court documents said police pulled the vehicle over and found fake identifications, pages of stolen identities, more than $6,000 in cash, counterfeit checks and supplies to create the items including a printer with a magnetic ink character recognition cartridge to equip checks with print recognized by store computer check systems.

The trio, two of whom stated they were unemployed while the other claimed to work for a billboard company, also could face federal charges. The Secret Service has become involved in the case.

Clearly, these men face the possibility of legal battles on the state and federal levels, which means they require the legal knowledge and guidance of an experienced criminal defense attorney.

Source: Concord Monitor: "Police: Counterfeiting ring stopped" by Molly A.K. Connors: Aug. 25, 2011