AUBURN—Flip fast, and you might miss it.

Authorities say that’s what two Sacramento residents were hoping when they went on a buying spree at local Targets armed with thousands in fake $50 bills.

Bur it didn’t quite work out that way.

“They messed with the wrong store, and the wrong county,” Det. Jim Hudson of the Placer County Sheriff’s Department said.

On Thursday, sheriff’s officers arrested Lakeisha C. Pearson, 23, and Ryan Ragsdale, 24, on suspicion of burglary, passing counterfeit currency and conspiracy.

Hudson said they were part of a large-scale counterfeiting ring that passed as much as $100,000 – all in $50 bills – over the past 60 days in Placer, San Joaquin and Sacramento counties.

The scam allegedly involved purchasing high-end electronics equipment at Target stores with the funny money, then returning the merchandise for legit cash, officials said.

But they fell under heightened surveillance after they hit two Roseville Targets on October 22, Hudson said.

The stores noticed the counterfeit bills after the suspects left, and began comparing surveillance video. Working with the retailer, the sheriff’s office began tracking Pearson and Ragsdale as they worked the scheme in Modesto.

Meanwhile, detective work tied the pair to four other suspected counterfeiters arrested in September, Hudson said. On Thursday, as deputies believed Pearson and Ragsdale were preparing for another hit, they were arrested leaving a Rancho Cordova home.

GOOD – BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH

The fake fifties were likely printed on an ordinary home printer, Hudson said. And a special chemical coating – which Hudson declined to identify – meant they went unspotted by counterfeit-detecting pens.

Still, the counterfeiters made mistakes.

For instance, the perpetrators simply scanned and printed the same exact $50 bill, and didn’t bother to change the serial number – a dead giveaway. And the security strip and watermarks were visible at all times. Those features are light-sensitive on legit bills.

“What they did was just print them on,” Hudson said.

Hudson said he is trying to get the word out on counterfeiting as holiday buying picks up – traditionally, a big time for counterfeiters.

Investigators believe there are several other ring members operating, and are urging business owners to be aware of suspicious bills. The serial number on the bills they are currently passing is IB06637078B.