Three local men who authorities say were part of an extensive counterfeiting operation appeared in federal court Monday after being indicted on several charges.
A federal grand jury returned a seven-count indictment on Nov. 19 charging the men — Cameron R. Longshore, 30, and Ian J. Longshore, 27, both of Decatur, and Kenyada Barrion, 35, of Stone Mountain — with counterfeiting charges.
They were charged, along with Heath J. Kellogg, 36, of Woodstock, and Stacy P. Smith, 37, and James C. Kellogg, 63, both of Marietta, with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute counterfeit U.S. currency.
“Counterfeiters cause great economic harm to innocent people and businesses that are not involved in the crime, but are victimized by accepting worthless counterfeit currency,” U.S. Atorney Sally Quillian Yates said in the news release.
Heath Kellogg and Smith were arrested on Nov. 15, arraigned on Nov. 19 and ordered held pending trial.
The remaining four defendants were arrested on Nov. 28 and arraigned that same day.
The indictment alleges that from around Feb. 1, 2011, until the first arrests in this case, the defendants conspired to manufacture and distribute counterfeit U.S currency, mainly $50 bills.
Heath Kellogg, a self-taught graphic artist, allegedly developed a manufacturing process for counterfeit currency. Smith is accused of assisting Heath Kellogg with various parts of the process, for which both men allegedly bought supplies. James Kellogg, Heath’s father, helped manufacture the counterfeit bills and stored supplies at his home, Yates said.
Smith would take the counterfeit currency and then distribute it through a network of individuals, Yates said. She said the defendants sold the counterfeit currency to customers in exchange for genuine U.S currency at discounted rates.
On Aug. 10 and 14, Secret Service agents bought counterfeit currency using a cooperating defendant. On two occasions, the cooperating defendant bought counterfeit currency with a face value of $2,000 for $900 in genuine currency. On both occasions, the cooperating defendant arranged to buy the counterfeit currency by contacting Kenyada Barrion, who delivered the counterfeit money, Yates said. On Aug. 10, Barrion was accompanied by Cameron Longshore. On Aug. 14, Barrion was accompanied by Ian Longshore.
On Nov. 15, Secret Service agents executed search warrants at the homes of Heath Kellogg, Smith and James Kellogg. The searches yielded a variety of evidence, including completed and partially completed counterfeit currency, authorities said. Secret Service agents executed an additional search warrant at a storage unit rented by Heath Kellogg, which revealed a large offset printing press the defendants had obtained in order to improve the quality of their counterfeit currency, prosecutors said.
The scope of the counterfeiting operation was extensive, Yates said. The Secret Service reports that counterfeit currency matching the distinctive characteristics of those produced by the defendants totaling more than $1 million in face value has been returned to the Secret Service by local police departments, banks, and merchants victimized when the counterfeit currency was passed.
In addition to the conspiracy charges against Heath Kellogg, James Kellogg and Smith, the indictment also charges Heath Kellogg and Smith with two counts each of the substantive offense of manufacturing counterfeit U.S. currency, and James Kellogg with one count of that same offense.
The indictment charges Heath Kellogg, Smith and Barrion with two counts each of distributing counterfeit U.S. currency, and Cameron Longshore and Ian Longshore with one count each of that same offense.
Finally, the indictment charges James Kellogg with two counts of possessing a firearm after conviction of a felony.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of 5 years of in prison. The manufacturing and distributing counterfeit currency charges each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The felon in possession charges each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Each of the offenses charged in the indictment is also punishable by a fine of up to $250,000.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.
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