Two men from Mississippi have been indicted on federal charges for allegedly using counterfeit currency to purchase an array of upscale jewelry and watches from a retail store in Pineville, as officially announced by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
The indictment, unsealed following Robert Lewis Elliott III, 36, and Devin Alonzo Elliott, 30, both hailing from Okolona, Mississippi, was charged with conspiracy to pass, and actually passing counterfeit obligations the details of the indictment revealed that the duo employed clever subterfuge and sleight-of-hand during a purchase at the Pineville jewelry store, where the exchange of faux cash for lavish timepieces took place.
In a scheme outlined by the indictment, on June 26, the Elliotts, accompanied by an unidentified third party, expressed their intention to buy approximately $300,000 worth of jewelry, for which they gave the store a $1,000 cash deposit, promising to finalize the deal the next day.
Upon their return, R. Elliott is alleged to have swapped a stack of genuine $100 bills with counterfeit ones after they were counted by a store employee, repeating this process until he had surreptitiously filled the store's safe with the counterfeit currency then after misleading the employee with a request to retrieve more cash and identification from his car, the Elliotts made their escape with the high-ticket items, including watches by Patek Phillipe, Audemars Piguet, Cartier, and Rolex, along with various jewelry pieces. The brazen act of trickery cost the store over a quarter of a million dollars in luxury items.
Now out on bond, the defendants face significant prison time if convicted, with up to five years for the conspiracy charge and 20 years for passing the counterfeit bills, "They are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law," as the U.S. Attorney's Office emphasizes, Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley is in charge of the prosecution, with the collaboration of the U.S. Secret Service and the Pineville Police Department commended by U.S. Attorney Ferguson for their investigative efforts.
