EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. -- A federal judge has sentenced Michael A. Eskew, 38 of Christopher, to 24 months imprisonment after he admitted to printing counterfeit money, according to the United States Attorney's Office 九游体育 District of Illinois.
Eskew pleaded guilty to one count of manufacture of counterfeit obligations of the U.S., one count of possession of counterfeit obligations of the U.S., and one count of possessing digital image of U.S. currency for counterfeiting on July 24.
Officials with the US Department of Justice stated court documents detailed Eskew used printers and electronic images of dollar bills to produce counterfeit U.S. Currency at his home. Law enforcement executed a search warrant of Eskew鈥檚 residence in July 2019 which reportedly recovered $33,826 in counterfeit bills.
鈥淢aking, using and possessing fake U.S. currency with fraudulent intent is punishable under federal law, and Michael Eskew was maintaining a full-scale, counterfeiting enterprise,鈥� said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. 鈥淗e schemed to defraud local businesses and enrich himself with the fake currency, thus warranting this sentence to federal prison.鈥�
In addition to the 24-month sentence, Eskew was ordered to pay a $600 fine and serve three years of supervised release.
