Police report they charged two New York City residents with first-degree forgery on March 27 following an incident involving some counterfeit US paper currency that a customer tried to make a purchase with in Newtown.

Charged are Azucena Z. Ancajima, 31, and Ivan Javier Gonzalez, 39, both of the same address in the Elmhurst section of Queens, NY, police said. First-degree forgery is a felony.

Each person was held on $10,000 bail for arraignment on March 28 in Danbury Superior Court.

At their arraignments, each person pleaded not guilty to their individual charges. Bail was dropped to $3,500 on each person. They are both scheduled to return to court on April 9.

Police said that about 8:30 pm on March 27, they were called to the Big Y supermarket at Newtown Shopping Village at 6 Queen Street, learning that a woman customer was attempting to make a purchase using a counterfeit $100 bill.

After investigating the incident, police arrested Ancajima and alleged accomplice Gonzalez.

Police said they seized a total of 16 counterfeit $100 bills.

Police said they learned that the pair had earlier made a successful transaction at Walgreens Pharmacy at 49 South Main Street.

Police said they found that the pair had been making small purchases at various stores in the region and would pay for merchandise with a counterfeit $100 bill. The pair would then take the items purchased as well as the change received from the purchases, police said.

Newtown police said they were assisted in the investigation by state police, Monroe police, Seymour police, and the US Secret Service.