JACKSONVILLE, Fla — A woman accused of using counterfeit money in 2 Northeast Florida counties pleaded guilty to federal charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
Rhea Markland of Panama City has pleaded guilty to four counts of passing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes and is currently facing up to 20 years in federal prison. Markland also faces paying restitution to the victims she defrauded, according to United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.
According to court documents and public records, in 2022, Markland entered various businesses in Brevard, Clay, Duval, and Seminole counties and purchased gift cards and merchandise using counterfeit Federal Reserve notes.
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Law enforcement subsequently determined that Markland and her co-defendant, Neal Evan Pollman were staying at the Comfort Inn in Palm Bay.
In November of 2022, the Palm Bay Police Department executed a search warrant at the Comfort Inn where Markland was found.
Inside her room authorities found approximately $30,000 in counterfeit currency and an HP printer for manufacturing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes.
Pollman and Markland appeared in federal court on April 27, 2023, according to a writ bringing them to Jacksonville from the Bay County Jail, where they are serving a jail sentence for violating their state probation on multiple charges related to passing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes.
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The court ordered Pollman and Markland detained pending trial.
Pollman was charged with one count of manufacturing and nine counts of passing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes. He is scheduled for trial in July 2023.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, “An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.“
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This case was investigated by multiple law enforcement agencies including, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Palm Bay Police Department, the Orange Park Police Department, and the Jacksonville Field Office of the United States Secret Service.
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