Bradenton man made more than $10,000 in counterfeit bills. Now he’s going to prison
A Bradenton man was sentenced to serve 18 months in federal prison for making more than $10,000 in counterfeit bills.
Between March and November 2020, Anthony Wayne Smith made 203 copies of $50 bills — a total of $10,150 — with the same serial number, according to investigators with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Smith, 58, pleaded guilty on Jan. 14 as part of a plea agreement.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington sentenced Smith to 18 months in federal prison for manufacturing counterfeit currency. Smith was also ordered to forfeit a firearm and ammunition found during a search of his house.
Smith admitted that the “dope, guns and counterfeit money” were his when law enforcement showed up with a search warrant at his Bradenton home in the 3500 block of 16th Street East on Nov. 13, 2020. He admitted to making counterfeit money and took them to his bedroom where they found a box of counterfeit money, a loaded .22 revolver, three boxes of .22 caliber ammunition and 6.9 grams of crystal methamphetamine.
In another box — labeled “Wayne’s Don’t Touch” — they found more rounds of ammunition.
Investigators found a scanned image of a $50 dollar bill during a forensics examination of the computer found in his bedroom, assigned the name “waynes MacBook Pro.”
Smith could have faced up to 20 years in prison.
But based on sentencing guidelines Assisted U.S. Attorney David W.A. Chee had asked that Smith be sentenced to two years.
Smith’s criminal history has been ongoing, including many petty crimes and criminal traffic offenses, according to court documents. His previous prison stint was a 26-month sentence for a 2014 conviction for felony DUI 4th or subsequent conviction.
