Cedar Rapids woman arrested in bogus bleached money scheme

WATERLOO — One person has been arrested in connection with a scheme that recycled $10 bills to make counterfeit $100 bills passed at area stores.

Kiera Nicole Marie Quarles, 18, of Cedar Rapids, was arrested Tuesday for ongoing criminal conduct and forgery. She has been released from jail pending trial.

Court records indicate others may be involved in the operation that used bleach to remove printing from $10 bills. The bleached bills were then printed with designs for $100 bills, according to police.

Quarles and others used the bills at Walmart's Waterloo store on Nov. 13, police said. They allegedly made small purchases, submitted the bogus bills and collected change. Four bills where passed and a fifth was rejected.

Investigators said the same scheme was used four times at other stores in the area. One bill was discovered at a bank.

Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers posted photos of some of the people involved, and Quarles was identified, according to court records.