Two arrested in connection with counterfeiting operation found in El Dorado hotel room

Two people were recently arrested by El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies on suspicion of counterfeiting currency from a hotel room in Cameron Park.

In a news release, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said Joel Luna, 45, and Staci Faletti, also 45, were taken into custody on Feb. 28 on suspicion of forgery, conspiracy and possession of forged materials with intent to distribute them.

Deputies were sent out to a Quality Inn hotel in Cameron Park where the two were believed to have recently been residing. In the recently vacated hotel room, they found evidence of counterfeiting operations.

Law enforcement contact the two, who had previously been the occupants of the room, and found a counterfeit bill in their vehicle. When searched, deputies found many more counterfeit bills, a printer, paper stock for counterfeit money and hand-written credit card numbers in the vehicle.

Luna and Faletti were taken into custody but were later released from the El Dorado County jail on bail, according to the Sheriff’s Office.