A woman was arrested for allegedly producing fake money in order to repay debts stemming from her lavish purchases of luxury handbags and cosmetics, police said Tuesday.

The 27-year-old woman, surnamed Lee, is suspected of printing out 1.7 million won (US$1,560) worth of counterfeit bills and checks and spending them in violation of the local currency counterfeit law, according to Gangnam Police Station.

Police said she produced the fake money using a color printer at her home in order to repay about 60 million won in debts owed to loan sharks. The debts were mostly taken out to purchase expensive handbags and makeup, they said.

She was first caught on suspicion of stealing 300,000 won and a credit card at a local beauty salon, and police later detected the counterfeiting accusations while quizzing her on the theft.

At the time of the arrest, Lee was facing lawsuits filed by her former boyfriends for using their credit cards to buy luxury goods worth 110 million won in total, investigators said.

Police were interrogating her on further charges against her when they found four unfinished fake 50,000-won bills and 24 100,000-won checks at her home.