Description: Beckley, West Virginia criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with conspiracy to create and pass counterfeit United States currency in the Southern District of West Virginia.

On October 12, 2022, Crystal Wilks, age 23, and Jamarcus Harris, age 32, traveled with two of their co-conspirators from North Carolina to West Virginia. Wilks and Harris admitted that they passed counterfeit $100 bills at businesses in Beckley, Fayetteville and Summersville.

Wilks, Harris and their co-conspirators rented a room that evening at a Summersville hotel, where they attempted to create new counterfeit United States currency. Wilks and Harris admitted that their counterfeiting process involved bleaching $1 bills, scanning a genuine $100 bill, and printing the resulting image on the bleached bills.

Wilks and Harris are scheduled to be sentenced on January 26, 2024. Each faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the United States Secret Service.

United States District Judge Frank W. Volk presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander A. Redmon and Ryan Blackwell are prosecuting the case.

CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD THE UNITED STATES
(1)
PASSES COUNTERFEIT OBLIGATIONS OR SECURITIES
(2-3)
UTTERS COUNTERFEIT OBLIGATIONS
(4)

Outcome: The Defendants decided to plead guilty.

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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