JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 30-year-old Orlando man pleaded guilty Friday to passing counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes, according to U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley.
Leon White faces up to 20 years in prison after signing a plea agreement that states he passed or tried to pass counterfeit bills at multiple businesses in Nassau County. According to the plea agreement, White and two other men, Marcos Rogelio Blake, 24, of New York, and Ralph Darel Lipsey, 28, of Miramar, were in a vehicle that was pulled over on Jan. 17. Blake, who was driving the vehicle, was detained for a suspended license. An officer searched Blake and found he had both genuine bills and counterfeit bills.
The officer searched the vehicle and found more counterfeit notes and a lock box with computer equipment used to make counterfeit bills. A follow-up investigation connected White and Lipsey to more than $1,600 worth of counterfeit notes.
Blake pleaded guilty to manufacturing and passing counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes and possessing counterfeit business checks on Sept. 30. Lipsey pleaded guilty to manufacturing and passing counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes on Oct. 26.