DAYTON, Ohio – Kenneth Stopkotte, 53, of Unionville, Ind., was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 21 months in prison for using counterfeit money at a Dayton Dragons minor league baseball game.
Stopkotte was also sentenced to an additional nine months in prison, to be served consecutively, for violating his terms of previous supervised release.
According to the Statement of Facts in this case, Stopkotte was on supervised release following a federal conviction for bank larceny, money laundering and access device fraud when he purchased more than 200 counterfeit $20 bills off a website on the “dark web”.
In April 2018, Stopkotte traveled from his home in Unionville, Ind. to Dayton to attend a Dayton Dragons game. He carried with him most of the counterfeit money and made numerous purchases, including his ticket, food and beverage and other concessions.
Stopkotte pleaded guilty in this case in May 2018.
All of the above activity took place while Stopkotte was still on supervised release after a different federal conviction in the Middle District of Tennessee in 2014, in which the defendant stole more than $66,000 by taking donation checks out of the mailboxes of multiple churches. He was sentenced to 26 months in prison.
As part of the sentence imposed today, Stopkotte will forfeit 231 fake $20 bills, an iPhone and the nearly $495 in cash he had in his possession at the time of his arrest.
Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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