Franklin County Man Sentenced to Prison for Producing Counterfeit U.S. Currency

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A federal district judge sentenced a man from Christopher, Illinois, to 24 months’ imprisonment after he admitted to printing counterfeit money.

Michael A. Eskew, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of manufacture of counterfeit obligations of the U.S., one count of possession of counterfeit obligations of the U.S., and one count of possessing digital image of U.S. currency for counterfeiting.

“Making, using and possessing fake U.S. currency with fraudulent intent is punishable under federal law, and Michael Eskew was maintaining a full-scale, counterfeiting enterprise,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “He schemed to defraud local businesses and enrich himself with the fake currency, thus warranting this sentence to federal prison.”

According to court documents, Eskew used printers and electronic images of dollar bills to produce counterfeit U.S. Currency at his home. Following a search warrant of Eskew’s residence in July 2019, law enforcement recovered $33,826 in counterfeit bills.

Eskew distributed the counterfeit bills to at least five individuals within his community. In addition to imprisonment, Eskew was ordered to pay a $600 fine and serve three years of supervised release.

The U.S. Secret Service led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zoe Gross and Kathleen Howard contributed to the prosecution.