NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – A 28-year-old Miramar man was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for manufacturing and passing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes, which he and two other men passed at businesses in Nassau County, authorities said.
As part of the sentence, the court ordered Ralph Lipsey to pay back the businesses he defrauded and to forfeit the money he made by passing the notes and the computer media he used to make them.
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According to court documents, in January 2015, Lipsey and his co-defendants, Marcos Rogelio Blake and Leon White, passed or attempted to pass counterfeit Federal Reserve notes at multiple businesses in Nassau County.
Law enforcement officers issued an alert for the three men who were stopped in a car on Jan. 17, 2015, by a Nassau County deputy.
Blake, who was driving the vehicle, was detained because of a suspended license. During a search, the deputy found genuine and counterfeit bills on Blake. An search of the vehicle found $1,600 in additional counterfeit notes and a lock box. The lock box contained computer media and supplies used to make counterfeit bills.
Blake, 25 of New York, and White, 30 of Orlando, previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the case. Blake was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and White was sentenced to time served, followed by three years of probation.
The case was investigated by the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Secret Service, Jacksonville Field Office.