JACKSONVILLE, FL—United States District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced James Steven Hall (47, Lake City) to 24 months in federal prison for manufacturing and passing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes. As part of the sentence, the Court ordered Hall to pay restitution to the various businesses he had defrauded.

According to court documents, in March 2015, law enforcement received information that Hall had possessed counterfeit currency in his hotel room in Columbia County. On March 25, 2015, officers from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Secret Service went to the hotel and made contact with Hall, who allowed the officers to search his room. The search revealed counterfeit $10 and $20 bills that had been hidden between the mattress and box spring. Supplies for manufacturing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes, including a paper cutter, an ink jet printer, blank paper, a laptop computer, and used ink cartridges, were also found in the room. Hall later admitted to manufacturing a few thousand dollars in counterfeit notes, and to passing some of them at local businesses in the Lake City area.

This case was investigated by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Secret Service—Jacksonville Field Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.