Atlanta, GA – Counterfeiting ring leaders Heath J. Kellogg and Stacy P. Smith have been dealt a heavy blow as they face federal prison time for their crimes.
Heath J. Kellogg, a self-taught graphic artist, developed a manufacturing process for counterfeit currency. Smith helped Kellogg manufacture the counterfeit currency, and both men purchased supplies on various occasions.
The defendants focused on $50 bills, but also manufactured $20 bills. Smith distributed the counterfeit currency through a network of individuals, which ultimately spread the bills throughout the United States.
According to United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: From approximately February 1, 2011 until November 15, 2012, the defendants conspired to manufacture and distribute counterfeit U.S currency.
Heath Kellogg used feedback from their ultimate customers, who victimized businesses, individuals, and banks by passing the counterfeit currency in the community, to refine and improve their manufacturing process over time. The defendants sold the counterfeit currency to customers in exchange for genuine U.S currency, at various discounted rates.
On November 15, 2012, Secret Service agents executed search warrants yielding a wide variety of physical evidence, including completed and partially completed counterfeit currency, a large roll of special paper of the sort used in commercial printing presses, numerous printers, and a flash drive containing encrypted digital files with high definition images of various features of the counterfeit bills.
Heath J. Kellogg was sentenced on Friday, March 24, 2014, to twelve years in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Heath Kellogg was convicted on November 5, 2013, of one count of conspiracy to counterfeit and deal in counterfeit obligations of the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, two counts of counterfeiting currency in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 471, and two counts of dealing in counterfeit obligations in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 473, after pleading guilty to the Indictment.
At sentencing, the court found Kellogg responsible for manufacturing counterfeit currency with a face value of over $1 million. Smith was sentenced on Wednesday, March 26, 2014, to three years in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
The United States Secret Service will continue to take an aggressive approach to arrest criminals like Smith and Kellogg. These sentences should be a warning to other like-minded criminals that manipulating and stealing from the American people will not go unpunished.
Related Federal Cases
- Gary Patton Hall, Jr., Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, Georgia 2010 · Georgia
- Kelli Durham, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, Georgia 2012 · Georgia
- Greene Wylie Sheppard, Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and Aggravated Identity Theft, Georgia 2013 · Arkansas
- Dr. Robert B. Sperrazza, Tax Evasion and Currency Structuring, Georgia 2013 · Florida
- John Dewey Morris, Wire Fraud, Georgia 2013 · Utah
Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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