THOUSAND OAKS : Counterfeiter Gets 8 Months in Jail

A Thousand Oaks man who manufactured phony cash at a Ventura print shop was sentenced Friday to eight months in jail while his counterfeiting partner started a one-year jail sentence.

Jeffrey David Sevier, 28, had pleaded guilty to 17 counts of counterfeiting, drug possession, burglary and grand theft. In addition to the jail term, he was placed Friday on probation for five years by Superior Court Judge Charles W. Campbell Jr.

Sevier had teamed up with co-worker James F. Hanson, 31, of Chatsworth, to make counterfeit money at the print shop where they worked, said Mark Aveis of the Ventura County district attorney’s major fraud unit.

Hanson, who had pleaded guilty to making counterfeit plates, forgery and having the intent to pass a forged document, was sentenced Aug. 10 to one year in Ventura County Jail, the maximum possible term under a plea agreement that promised he would not be sent to prison for his crime.

Sevier was spared the maximum sentence because “he is married, he has a child, he is working, he has ties to the community and he has no prior criminal record,” Aveis said.

Without the plea agreements, Sevier could have been sent to prison for eight years and Hanson for five years.

The investigation began earlier this year when about $80,000 in bogus bills was found in a Ventura recycling bin and in a Malibu creek, Aveis said. Federal investigators linked the fake currency to a Ventura print shop, but they did not know who made them.

In April, Sevier had been stopped for a traffic violation and Ventura police found $322,000 in counterfeit bills in his car. Authorities eventually linked Sevier and Hanson to the phony money found in the recycling bin and creek.

Sevier and Hanson allegedly tried to pass some fake currency at a fast-food restaurant but it was rejected, Aveis said. Hanson also gave $100 in counterfeit money to a friend who hired a prostitute, Aveis said.

Sevier is scheduled to report Oct. 16 for his term in Ventura County Jail.