JORDAN
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A Dayton man has been indicted in Union County, accused of being part of an alleged multi-state counterfeiting operation.
Jurode D. Jordan, 31, of Dayton, has been charged with five counts of money laundering and three counts of forgery.
“This is broader than just Union County,” Union County Prosecutor David Phillips said. “It was throughout Ohio and was actually a multi-state issue.”
Phillips said Jordan was purchasing counterfeit money from an out-of-state organization. The prosecutor explained that counterfeiters allegedly took one-dollar bills and bleached them, then used the paper to print $100 bills. He said that because the bill is on real paper it will pass many of the initial security checks.
Phillips said Jordan would go into convenience stores locally and make a small purchase. He would allegedly pay with the fake bills and get real change.
“That’s where the money laundering comes in, because he has taken bad bills and turned it into good money,” Phillips said.
The prosecutor said a variety of banks and merchants began to identify the counterfeits. Phillips said the serial number on all the bills was the same.
“They started to notice a pattern where the bills were coming from,” Phillips said. “Marysville Division of Police Sgt. Terry Basinger was the one investigating this and he was able to check the merchants’ video and identify this individual.”
Phillips said other areas have reported similar counterfeiting and Union County is now part of a larger, multi-state investigation. He added that, “once it was determined the bills were counterfeit, the secret service is taking that part of the investigation.”
Phillips explained that new money has anti-counterfeiting features, “the old bills however do not.”
Phillips said the counterfeiters allegedly use the older design, what he called “the small presidents.”
In 1996, in an effort to improve anti-counterfeiting measures, the federal government redesigned several of its bills. The presidents’ heads got bigger and were moved off center and much of scrollwork on the borders went away.
New methods of thwarting counterfeiters, like color changing ink, also appeared on some of the bills.
Bills were also redesigned in 2003, removing the frame around the presidents and adding more colors and more security measures.
Phillips said the federal government has been working to take the old currency out of circulation and very few legitimate bills remain, but people still remember the design and it has the feel of real currency.
“When accepting currency, you should look for the security features and be highly suspicious of it,” Phillips warned.
Also indicted was:
– Francis Vincent Cline, 63, of 220 Greenwood Boulevard. Cline is charged with one count each of theft and receiving stolen property. According to court documents, on Dec. 24, Cline allegedly stole credit cards from a local woman.
If convicted on both counts, Cline could face as many as 24 months in prison.
– Jesseka Kristine Lowe, 24, of 1600 Detroit St., Bellefontaine. Lowe is charged with one count each of grand theft when the property is a firearm or dangerous ordinance and receiving stolen property. According to court documents, on Jan 14, Lowe allegedly stole a 9 mm handgun from a local man. If convicted, Lowe could face more than six years in prison.