St. Louis Man Sentenced To Prison For Counterfeiting, Resisting And Obstruction

Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on January 18, 2013, Sancehez E. Smotherman, 36, of St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced to 41 months in prison for Possession of Counterfeit Currency, Resisting or Impeding the U.S. Secret Service and Obstruction of Justice, as alleged in a three count indictment returned on July 18, 2012, by a Federal Grand Jury. Smotherman was also ordered to pay $600.00 in fines and special assessments and $2,904.01 in restitution to the City of Sauget, Illinois. The restitution was ordered to reimburse Sauget for medical expenses incurred when one of its officers was injured during Smotherman’s efforts to impede and obstruct the investigation.

At his plea on October 12, 2012, Smotherman admitted that on June 13, 2012, he had possessed and passed counterfeit United States currency at a business located in Sauget, Illinois. Smotherman also admitted that, after his arrest, he had tried to destroy evidence (directions on how to counterfeit money) by placing the evidence in his mouth in an attempt to swallow the item. Smotherman then resisted a Sauget, Illinois, police officer and an agent of the United States Secret Service in their attempts to prevent the destruction of the evidence. The Sauget police officer was injured while trying to prevent the destruction of the evidence.

The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Sauget, Illinois, Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ranley R. Killian.