URBANA, IL – A Bismarck, Illinois man, Jacob R. Kirkley, 48, is headed back to federal prison after receiving a five-and-a-half year sentence for a brazen return to counterfeiting. Kirkley, already a convicted counterfeiter, was sentenced May 2, 2025, for manufacturing, selling, and possessing fake U.S. currency – and for violating the terms of his supervised release from a previous conviction.
The latest charges stem from a series of sales to an undercover Illinois State Police officer. In December 2023 and January 2024, Kirkley peddled $1,000, then $5,000 in counterfeit bills to the officer, all created by his own hand for a mere $250 initial investment. A subsequent raid on his Bismarck residence in January 2024, conducted by the U.S. Secret Service and the Vermilion County Metropolitan Enforcement Group, turned up more fake cash and the tools of his illicit trade.
This wasn’t Kirkley’s first rodeo. Back in 2022, he was convicted of manufacturing and passing counterfeit currency after a Vermilion County Sheriff’s Deputy discovered over $20,000 in fake bills in his truck. The investigation revealed he’d flooded local businesses with the forgeries, hitting Carnaghi’s Towing, McDonald’s in Danville, and a Dollar General in Tilton. A search of his room at the Budget Inn in Danville uncovered another $20,000 in counterfeit cash, four printers, a paper cutter, and a host of other counterfeit-making materials. That earned him 27 months in prison and a three-year supervised release – a term he flagrantly ignored.
Kirkley’s release from prison in May 2023 lasted just ten months before he resumed his criminal activities. But it wasn’t just the counterfeiting that landed him in trouble. Evidence presented at sentencing revealed Kirkley tested positive for methamphetamine use on eight separate occasions while on supervised release. Disturbingly, he even admitted to an undercover officer that he was a known quantity to law enforcement – “my name’s a red flag for any kind of… counterfeit material at all.” He also revealed learning how to use “Bible paper” to create convincing fakes during his first prison stint, and a chilling acknowledgment that he’d be “screwed” if caught again.
U.S. District Judge Colin S. Bruce clearly wasn’t impressed with Kirkley’s lack of remorse. Finding that Kirkley had not accepted responsibility for his actions, Judge Bruce went above the recommended sentencing guidelines. The judge cited Kirkley’s repeat offense while on supervised release and his recent release from prison as aggravating factors. The maximum penalty for the five counts of conviction could have been 20 years per count, plus a $250,000 fine. The violation of supervised release carries its own penalties.
Following completion of his 5.5 year prison sentence, Kirkley will be subject to an additional three years of federal supervised release. The U.S. Attorney’s Office hopes this lengthy sentence will finally deter Kirkley from further engaging in fraudulent activity. But with a history of disregard for the law, and a knack for bypassing security measures, it remains to be seen if Kirkley will truly turn over a new leaf.
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Key Facts
- Agency: U.S. Secret Service
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Press Release
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