Former Police Officer and Disbarred Attorney Pleads Guilty to Dealing Counterfeit Currency

A former police officer, also a disbarred Iowa attorney, who sold counterfeit currency to an undercover agent in February of this year, pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Brian Loren Stowe, age 43, from Waverly, Iowa, was convicted of one count of dealing in counterfeit currency.

In a plea agreement, Stowe admitted that he is a former police officer and attorney, whom the Iowa Supreme Court disbarred in 2013 after he was convicted on felony forgery charges and received a deferred judgment for possession of methamphetamine.  In February 2015, Stowe sold   $900 in counterfeit currency for $250 in real currency to an undercover law enforcement agent.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Stowe remains free on conditions of release set by the court pending sentencing.  Stowe faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 in special assessment, and 3 years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Vavricek and was investigated by the United States Secret Service, the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Divisions of Narcotics Enforcement and Criminal Investigation, the Waterloo Police Department, the Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service.

Court file information available https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 15-CR-2034.

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