Attorney General Dave Sunday announced charges against four New York men regarding a scheme involving merchandise returns for purchases made with fake cash at stores in 16 Pennsylvania counties.

The men – Fitzroy James, Fabian Coke, Gabriel Young, and Christopher Nicholas – are charged with felony counts of organized retail theft, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, conspiracy, and related offenses.

Efforts to take the men into custody are ongoing.

They targeted Kohl’s, Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and other retailers for thefts – which involved payment for goods with counterfeit bills and subsequent returns made to receive real money. More than $20,000 in purchases or attempted purchases, with fake cash, were made at stores in 16 counties across the Commonwealth including Northampton County.

The group is suspected of similar crimes in several other states.