Maybe he thought this phony-Benjamins scheme was in the bag — but the bag landed him in the pen.

A New Jersey man is in hot water after he was caught at JFK Airport trying to smuggle $23,000 in fake hundred-dollar bills into the country, authorities said.

Fred Moloche, 34, had just made his way back from a trip to Peru when he caught the attention of Customs officials, who found the counterfeit cash in a bag at about 1 p.m. Friday.

Suspicious Customs agents flagged down Port Authority cops, who then cuffed Moloche and turned him over to the feds, law-enforcement sources said.

After the thousands of greenbacks were confirmed as fakes, Moloche was charged with first-degree forgery, authorities said. He was awaiting arraignment last night.

larry.celona@nypost.com