An Atlanta man was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison Friday for turning $5 bills into $100 bills -- more than $1.2 million of them, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.
Vincent Gerome Rome Jr., 26, manufactured counterfeit bills that circulated in at least 10 states, authorities said. He pleaded guilty in the case last Nov. 21.
“This defendant stole from others when he made over a million dollars’ ‘worth' of counterfeit $100 bills by putting new faces on $5 bills," U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in a statement. "His thievery by counterfeiting has ended with a very real prison sentence.”
In addition to his prison sentence of 5 years 3 months, Rome must serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution of $13,300.
Using commercial cleaners and solvents, Rome removed the original images from $5 bills and printed $100 images on the currency, according to court records. He then sold the bogus cash to others in the metro Atlanta area, who went on to circulate the money primarily in the Southeast.
The scheme lasted about two years before law enforcement officials searched Rome's residence last August. They found bleaching trays, printers, bank wrappers for $5 bills, thousands of dollars in fake $100 bills, and three firearms, authorities said.
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