Watch CBS News

Ricco Darnell Taylor Of Capitol Heights Sentenced To 41 Months For Making, Passing Counterfeit Money

GREENBELT, Md. (WJZ) -- A Capitol Heights man was sentenced last week to 41 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in March for manufacturing and passing counterfeit money, according to the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office.

Ricco Darnell Taylor, 32, also must serve three years of supervised release and pay $98,000 in restitution.

According to his guilty plea, from at least 2017 to December 2019, Taylor, conspired with others to manufacture and pass counterfeit currency.

Taylor manufactured the counterfeit currency using a printer at his home. He then gave the counterfeit currency to his co-conspirators or occasionally sold it, according to court documents. The co-conspirators were identified as Keara Davis, 29, of Capitol Heights; Deon Jones, 31, of Temple Hills; and Tara Simpson, 52, of Hyattsville, according to a statement from the office.

Taylor and his co-conspirators took the counterfeit currency to retailers in the area, where they used it to purchase merchandise. The conspirators subsequently returned the merchandise and received genuine currency.

According to court documents, the Secret Service collected evidence from dozens of instances in which Taylor and his co-conspirators passed counterfeit currency.

In total, Taylor and his co-conspirators are responsible for passing between $95,000 and $150,000 in counterfeit currency, officials said.

Davis was sentenced June 2 to 15 months in federal prison for conspiracy and passing of counterfeit currency. Simpson and Jones were each sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for the same charge. All three co-defendants were also ordered to pay $95,000 in restitution.

 

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.