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Press Releases
Counterfiet Ring Stopped
Friday, February 11, 2005
On Wednesday February 9, 2005 Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Detectives and United States Secret Service Agents shut down a counterfeiting operation, which was operating in the Acadiana area. Detectives have been investigating the circulation of $10, $20 and $100-dollar bills since the Scott Police Department reported the initial find at a local bank in early January. Scott Police Chief Chad Leger was instrumental in identifying those responsible for passing the bills through the bank in Scott. Working with the Scott Police Department and U.S. Secret Service Agents, detectives learned that bills with the same serial numbers as those recovered in Scott were being circulated across the United States. The investigation led back to Lafayette Parish, where on Wednesday deputies arrested 27 year-old Lisa Holliday Woodward of Milton and charged her with Monetary Instrument Abuse after she exchanged counterfeit money for real money. Shortly after the initial arrest, agents with the Secret Service arrested her husband Charles Woodward in Gonzales, LA on federal counterfeiting charges and parole violation. Federal charges on Lisa Woodward are possible as the investigation continues and additional arrests could be made.
The investigation revealed that Charles Woodward had been manufacturing the bills at an Opelousas business, a north Lafayette Parish home and a south Lafayette Parish business. Woodward would copy money from the till of the businesses where he worked and then return the original back into the business' till for deposit. The counterfeit money was then traded for drugs or sold. Investigators are confident that the two people responsible for manufacturing the bills are in custody and over $1,500 in counterfeit money and their equipment has been recovered. The Vermillion Parish Sheriff's Office also played a vital role in helping to apprehend the suspects.
Lt. Craig Stansbury
Public Information Officer
Lafayette Parish sheriff's Office
337-236-5876
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