North Carolina Woman Sentenced to Prison for Role in Counterfeit Currency Conspiracy

BECKLEY, W.Va. - Crystal Wilks, 24, of Lenoir, North Carolina, was sentenced today to one year and six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $800 in restitution for conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States. Harris admitted to her role in a conspiracy to create and pass counterfeit United States currency in the Southern District of West Virginia.<_o3a_p>

According to court documents and statements made in court, on October 12, 2022, Wilks and co-defendants Xavier Sanders and Jamarcus Harris traveled with another individual from North Carolina to West Virginia. Wilks admitted that they passed counterfeit $100 bills at businesses in Beckley, Fayetteville and Summersville.<_o3a_p>

Wilks and her co-conspirators rented a room that evening at a Summersville hotel, where they attempted to create new counterfeit United States currency. Wilks admitted that their counterfeiting process involved bleaching $1 bills, scanning a genuine $100 bill, and printing the scanned image on the bleached bills.<_o3a_p>

Harris, 33, of Lenoir, North Carolina, was sentenced on February 2, 2024, to two years and nine months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $800 in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States. Sanders, 25, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty on November 9, 2023, to conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and sentenced on April 26, 2024, to three years of probation after serving five months in jail .<_o3a_p>

United States Attorney Will Thompson made today's announcement and commended the investigative work of the United States Secret Service.<_o3a_p>

Chief United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander A. Redmon, Andrew D. Isabell and Ryan Blackwell prosecuted the case.<_o3a_p>

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:23-cr-54.