JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville man pleaded guilty Tuesday to manufacturing and possessing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes, officials said.
James Edward Langford IV, 30, faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in federal prison, along with having to give up the computer media used to make the counterfeit notes and pay restitution to any victims he defrauded, according to a statement from acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow.
In late July, investigators learned Langford was making counterfeit notes at a hotel in Jacksonville, according to court documents.
On July 25, 2017, U.S. Secret Service agents performed surveillance at the hotel room and watched as Langford and two others left the room, Muldrow said. Langford and one other person discarded full trash bags near the hotel’s trash area. A search of the bags revealed several uncut sheets of wadded paper with printed images of counterfeit $20 bills, officials said.
Later in the day, Secret Service agents saw Langford leave the hotel parking lot. Surveillance teams watched him driving erratically, cutting across three lanes of traffic, speeding, entering an intersection and then making a sudden U-turn, according to the statement from Muldrow. Officers pulled over his car, conducted a search and found multiple counterfeit $20 Federal Reserve notes in Langford’s wallet.
A search of Langford’s hotel room revealed numerous counterfeit notes and the media used to make them, along with chemicals commonly used to remove the ink from genuine bills during the counterfeiting process, officials said.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service - Jacksonville Field Office and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.