Howell man sentenced for creating fake money

A Howell man was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in federal prison for aiding in the manufacturing of counterfeit money that was passed at more than a dozen Livingston County businesses.

Robert Watkins also was ordered to serve two years of supervised release for manufacturing counterfeit $20 bills in his Howell apartment from November 2013 to March 2014.

His live-in girlfriend, Angela Ann Debord, was sentenced in February to one day incarceration and 18 months probation for aiding Watkins in the making the fake money, according to court documents. She also was ordered to spend 225 days in home confinement and to undergo a psychological evaluation.

The couple also was ordered to pay $1,440 in restitution.

Authorities said Debord and Watkins used a scanner/printer owned by Debord to create the counterfeit money, which Watkins then passed at Pet Supplies Plus and Rite Aid in Brighton and the Pardiac Shell gas station in Marion Township on Nov. 19, 2013. The fake money also was passed at Home Depot, Grundy’s Hardware store, Speedway and other businesses throughout the county, according to court documents.

The two were caught after several businesses in Brighton reported receiving counterfeit $20 bills that were passed in exchange for food or merchandise. Brighton police, with assistance from undercover officers with the Livingston and Washtenaw Narcotics Enforcement Team and Howell police, apprehended Debord and Watkins at their apartment on Curzon Street.

Brighton police said the couple “admitted to participating in the manufacture and distribution of the counterfeit money.” Police also said officers seized printing material and fake bills, which were turned over to the U.S. Secret Service, which investigated.

Debord was initially charged with attempting to pass the fake money at the BP gas station in Stockbridge on Nov. 26 that year, but that charge was dismissed under the plea deal, according to court records.

The government also dismissed a count of possessing the counterfeit money filed against both Debord and Watkins as well as three counts of passing counterfeit money lodged against Watkins.

Contact Livingston Daily Press & Argus justice reporter Lisa Roose-Church at 517-552-2846 or lrchurch@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @LisaRooseChurch.