The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a New York City man and woman were indicted today by a federal grand jury in Scranton on charges of passing counterfeit United States currency.

     According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, John Roldan, age 48, and Maribel Del Socorro Vasquez, age 46, both of Queens, New York, were charged with passing counterfeit United States Reserve Notes and Conspiracy after an incident in April 2011 in which Roldan and Vazquez allegedly each used a counterfeit $100 bill to purchase merchandise at the Target store located in Stroudsburg, Monroe County. Officers from the Stroud Regional Police Department later conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle in which Roldan and Vazquez were traveling and seized approximately $7,000 in counterfeit United States currency from Vazquez.

     If convicted of the charges, Roldan and Vasquez face a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

     The case was investigated by the Stroud Regional Police Department, the United States Secret Service, and Target store security personnel.

     The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara.

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An Indictment or Information is not evidence of guilt but simply a description of the charge made by the Grand Jury and/or United States Attorney against a defendant. A charged defendant is presumed innocent until a jury returns a unanimous finding that the United States has proven the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt or until the defendant has pled guilty to the charges.

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