He declined to say how many people are on the list. "It's less than 10," he conceded, "but that's as much as I can narrow it down at this point." Tuolumne County Tax Collector Del Hodges said all county departments that collect payments during the day turn them over to his office, which then prepares a daily bank deposit. "It could have come from any department," he said. "We take money from the hospital, Building Department, Animal Control, Revenue Recovery and other departments. It's hard to know where that money came from."

His staff compiled the list of people who paid in cash during the last few days and turned it over to the Sheriff's Department.  Although the Tuolumne Sheriff's Department is doing the initial investigation, counterfeit bill cases are ultimately the responsibility of the federal Secret Service, Bressler said.