On the 22nd of December, 2016 the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office
responded to the business located at 101 E Bluemont Avenue, Manhattan KS.
The business reported that on December 21st, a white male had used counterfeit
100 dollar bills to purchase a flat screen TV. Sometime after the transaction
had occurred it was discovered the 100 dollar bills were counterfeit. The bills
passed had marked on them “For Motion Picture Use Only”. The loss in the matter
was reported to be 500 dollars.
With the assistance of the Olathe Police Department and Lansing Police Department,
Pottawatomie County Sheriff Detectives working this case was able to identify a suspect,
Michael Andrew Baum. Baum, age 30 of Topeka KS was located at the Douglas County Jail
and has a hold for Pottawatomie County for Theft by Deception and Making False Information.
A bond of 10,000 has been set.
The Sheriff’s Office received information that some counterfeit bills have
surfaced at other businesses near Pottawatomie County and even
Northeast Kansas. Please pay extra attention to any bills you receive.
These counterfeit bills are marked “For Motion Picture Use Only”
on the front and back of the bill. They do look very similar to an actual bill.
If you have any information on this or any other crime please call the
Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office at 785-457-3353.
Greg Riat
Sheriff