More fake $50 bills circulated through Stow this month just days after Stow Patch reported that a conterfeit note was used at Walgreens Jan. 12.

"It is unusual to have so many reported in such a small time frame," said Chief Louis Dirker. "As with all such incidents that occur with such regularity and similarity we will look for a pattern of some kind."

After the incident at Walgreens, when a man tried paying for a $5 bottle of shampoo with a fake $50, a manager at Advance America Cash Advance said someone tried to pass a counterfeit $50 bill on Jan. 16.

Then a few days later on Jan. 21, a Giant Eagle employee told Stow Police that someone paid for groceries with counterfeit money.

According to the report, two fake $50 bills were used to pay for groceries. Employees said they didn't realize the bills were counterfeit until later. 

Forgery is a fifth-degree felony and criminal simulation is a first-degree misdemeanor.