Crime Ring Passes More Than $100,000 in Fake Bills

The sophisticated operation involved at least 30-people who have now been arrested.

"Operation Blue Ray" was conducted between the months of October 2009 and May 2010.

According to prosecutor Sharla Evert, the thieves would rip off local businesses like Target and Sears Essential by 'washing' $1 bills and reprinting them as $100-bills. The fake loot was also passed through local casinos.

But the operation also extended way beyond money washing. The suspects would also "re-encode" gift cards with information electronically lifted from stolen credit cards.

And the operation led to other crimes. Some of the suspects would use the fake money and stolen credit cards to check into expensive hotels and steal items like flat screen TV's.

The thieves would tape hangers to the end of the televisions and then drape a clothing cover over them and simply walk out of the hotel.

When members in the ring checked in, they would turn the rooms into counterfeit money labs all the while running up the bill on the stolen credit cards.

Also, as many as 70-burglaries were committed by suspects throughout the county. The operation also extended to Orange County.