Pair Converts $1 Bills Into Counterfeit $100’s Using Bleach and Printer
By Extra-Ordinary Women
Federal prosecutors have revealed that a man and a woman stand accused of engaging in a counterfeit cash operation involving an unusual method – they allegedly used a cleaning solution to erase ink from legitimate $1 bills in an attempt to transform them into counterfeit $100 bills.
The illicit activities of the accused pair came to light when they were apprehended while attempting to produce more counterfeit money. They had traveled from their home state of North Carolina to West Virginia on October 12, 2022, in the company of two co-conspirators, one of whom was a minor. During their visit to West Virginia, prosecutors and court documents allege that they spent fake $100 bills at various restaurants and gas stations.
Later that same evening, they checked into a hotel in Summersville, where they embarked on their counterfeiting operation. Court documents state that they bleached forty $1 bills before subjecting them to a microwave treatment. Prosecutors assert that the group had intentions of generating additional counterfeit currency with the assistance of a printer.
Inside the hotel room, authorities discovered a printer, scanner, an empty bottle of “Purple Power” cleaning solution (used for bleaching the bills), and “other tools required for producing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes,” as detailed in an indictment.
Prosecutors claim that both the 32-year-old man and the 23-year-old woman, both hailing from Lenoir, admitted to their counterfeiting process, which involved bleaching $1 bills, scanning a genuine $100 bill, and printing the resulting image onto the bleached bills.
On October 13, both defendants pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S., as announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia in an October 13 press release. McClatchy News attempted to contact the defense attorneys representing the man and woman on October 16 but received no immediate responses.
A third defendant, described by prosecutors as a co-conspirator, is scheduled to appear in court for a plea hearing on November 9, according to court records. Notably, the minor involved in the group’s scheme is not named as a defendant in the case, as per the indictment.
The man and woman who have pleaded guilty could face up to five years in prison and are set to be sentenced on January 26, according to prosecutors. Additionally, they may each be ordered to pay a $250,000 fine.
Lenoir, their hometown, is situated approximately 75 miles northwest of Charlotte.
