Cape man gets 30 months for counterfeiting in Illinois

BENTON, Ill. -- A federal judge has sentenced a Cape Girardeau man to 30 months in prison for making and passing counterfeit $20 bills.

Tyrone A. Jones, 24, pleaded guilty July 25 to two counts of passing counterfeit currency in Alexander County, Ill., court records show.

In his plea, Jones admitted he possessed and passed bills he knew to be counterfeit.

A grand jury indictment handed down in April charged Jones with passing 18 bogus $20 bills Feb. 10 and another 30 on March 10. According to the indictment, the bills Jones passed in February all had the serial number JL78896507D, while the bills he passed in March all had the serial number JB72459270E.

Jones also admitted he had manufacture other counterfeit currency recovered by the U.S. Secret Service, according to a news release from the office of the U.S. attorney for the southern district of Illinois, which prosecuted the case.

The counterfeiting scheme was not the first time Jones has run afoul of the law, although it appeared to be his first brush with the federal court system.

Online court records show in 2009, Jones pleaded guilty in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court to one count each of drug trafficking and resisting arrest and was sentenced to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.

In 2008, Jones was sentenced to 25 days in jail after pleading guilty to third-degree domestic violence.

The maximum penalty for passing counterfeit obligations is 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both.

Based on sentencing guidelines, however, which take into account several factors, the recommended sentencing range for Jones' case would have been 24 to 30 months in prison and a fine of $3,000 to $30,000.

In addition to the 30-month prison term, Jones was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Alexander County, Ill.

Benton, Ill.