Edward J. Stemwedel, 22, and Paige E. Clumpner, 25, Weyauwega, have been charged with two counts each of felony forgery.
They are accused of passing counterfeit $100 bills in the Weyauwega and New London areas.
On April 21, Weyauwega Police Officer Adam Rogge responded to a counterfeit bill complaint at the IGA grocery store.
A woman had handed the clerk a $100 bill that did not look right, but it passed the test with a counterfeit detection pen.
The woman told the clerk the bill had been through the wash. The clerk accepted the bill.
On April 22, Weyawega Police Chief Gerold Poltrock went to the IGA again after another customer had tried to use a counterfeit $100 bill. The woman said Clumpner had given her the bill.
When Rogge questioned her, Clumpner initially said she found the bills by the laundromat, according to the criminal complaint. She later said Stemwedel gave her the bills.
Stemwedel is also accused of passing counterfeit $100 bills in New London in April.
Investigators say Stemwedel washed out a $5 bill using acetone, then used the copier at the Weyauwega library to print a $100 bill on the washed-out $5 bill. He allegedly used the counterfeit money to make small purchases, then used the real money he got back in change to buy heroin.
In October, Stemwedel was charged with possession of narcotics after he reportedly overdosed on heroin.
On April 8, two weeks before the alleged counterfeit incident, Clumpner was convicted of possession of narcotics. She was placed on two years of probation. If she had successfully completed her probation, Clumpner’s record would have been expunged.
On June 19, Clumpner’s probation was revoked, and she was sentenced to one year in prison.