2 Men Plead Guilty to Making Counterfeit Money in Ventura Print Shop

Two men who teamed up after-hours to make counterfeit money at the Ventura print shop where they worked pleaded guilty Friday to felony charges in exchange for a promise of no prison time.

Jeffrey David Sevier, 28, of Thousand Oaks and James F. Hanson, 31, of Chatsworth never passed any of the phony cash, some of which was recovered uncut in a recycling bin. But the prosecutor--noting that Sevier was tied to more than $330,000 in bogus bills, while Hanson was in possession of $82,000--dismissed a defense attorney’s claim that the men were just “playing around.”

“It’s consistent with either a very big experiment, or two guys who are on the cusp of committing a very big crime,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Mark Aveis said.

Sevier pleaded guilty to 17 felonies, including forgery and manufacturing counterfeit equipment. Included in the charges were allegations that he also made fake California drivers licenses.

Hanson pleaded guilty to three charges--making counterfeit plates, forgery and having the intent to pass a forged document.

The investigation began earlier this year when a recycling center found counterfeit $5 and $10 bills while sorting materials that had been brought in for processing, Secret Service Agent J. Kevin Riordan said.

Investigators knew the materials had been picked up from a Ventura print shop, but they did not know who had made them, Riordan said.

Then in April, Sevier was stopped for an unrelated traffic offense and counterfeit money was found in his car, Aveis said. Eventually, Sevier was tied to the fake bills found at the recycling center, Riordan said.

Superior Court Judge Charles W. Campbell Jr. told Sevier and Hanson that he will place them on probation when he sentences them Aug. 10. Each man could be sent to County Jail for up to a year, but the judge said he will not send them to state prison.

Without the judge’s commitment, Sevier could have been sent to prison for eight years and Hanson for five.

Outside court, defense attorney Eric A. Chase said Sevier’s intentions were not criminal.

“He wanted to see what he could do with his printing press,” Chase said. “He was playing. He’s not a criminal.”

Hanson’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Nicholas Falcone, blamed Sevier for masterminding the crime.

“My client was in a very secondary role here,” Falcone said.

Hanson has a substance abuse problem and is now participating in a residential treatment program, his attorney said. Hanson owed Sevier money “and was more or less coerced into helping him out with this thing and he regrets it,” Falcone said.

Both men lost their jobs as a result of the counterfeiting.

Chase said the counterfeit money would have been spotted immediately if anyone had tried to pass it for the real thing.

“A lot of it was garbage,” he said. “They were printed [with one side] upside-down.”

Aveis, however, said the quality of the money should not be understated.

“They were certainly not amateurish,” the prosecutor said of the bogus bills. “These are complex documents, with all their engravings and notations.”

Riordan said the Secret Service will present the case to the U. S. attorney’s office for possible federal prosecution after Sevier and Hanson are sentenced in state court. Riordan said the county district attorney’s office was allowed to prosecute the case first because the Ventura Police Department made the initial arrest of Sevier.