Tampa Bay man sentenced for printing counterfeit bills
JACKSONVILLE (Fla.) – A Spring Hill man was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for passing counterfeit money and printing.
Three more Tampa-based accomplices have been sentenced to this scheme.
Prosecutors allege that Derrick Collins, 32 was responsible for creating counterfeit bills for his partner. Collins received a share of the proceeds after he passed the counterfeit currency to businesses.
The operation was halted when Jacksonville police stopped a car that contained Collins and other people at River City Marketplace.
During a vehicle search, officers found multiple counterfeit $100 bills in the glove box and throughout the vehicle. Law enforcement was then able to identify Collins as the source of the bills.
Collins was stopped in November for allegedly drunk driving in New Port Richey. During a search, police found several counterfeit $100 bills at various stages of production in the trunk. They also discovered computer media. In the vehicle’s glove box, officers located completed counterfeit cash and illicit proceeds from the passing of counterfeit cash, bundled together.
Collins will be sentenced to a term of imprisonment and must also forfeit the computer equipment that was used in the creation of the fake bills. He also has to forfeit $2,846.18 from illicit proceeds from counterfeiting. Collins was convicted on Oct. 25, following a bench trial.
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