Two Men Plead Guilty to Counterfeit Currency Conspiracy

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Two Washington, D.C. men pleaded guilty this week to conspiring to pass counterfeit currency.

According to court documents, between June 2017 and January 2019, Markee Alexander Brown, 27, and Joseph Andre Robinson, 24, conspired with one another to pass counterfeit $100 and $50 U.S. banknotes to purchase goods and to receive change in genuine U.S. currency from businesses and restaurants throughout the greater metropolitan Washington, D.C. area. Approximately 30 of these counterfeit passes were reported and captured by surveillance footage, and the U.S. Secret Service has collected thousands of dollars in counterfeit federal reserve notes connected to this conspiracy. 

Brown and Robinson pleaded guilty to conspiring to pass counterfeit currency and face a maximum penalty of five years in prison when sentenced on August 23. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Brian J. Ebert, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga accepted the pleas. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas U. Murphy II and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Jones are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:19-cr-54.