A noticeably pregnant Texarkana woman entered a plea of guilty to counterfeiting Friday at a hearing in federal court.
In November 2014, Texarkana, Ark., police executing a search warrant on Hall's apartment discovered a large amount of cut and uncut counterfeit $10, $20 and $100 dollar bills, according to Hall's plea agreement. Also found were ledgers containing the personal information, including birthdays, social security numbers, and other data which could be used to commit identity theft. Officers seized jewelry, credit cards and a large amount of computer equipment including laptops and color printers.
Hall pleaded guilty Friday to possession of counterfeit cash. As Hickey conducted the hearing, Hall wiped at her eyes with cuffed hands.
"We have to find a suitable place for you to reside before we can revisit the issue of detention," Hickey said.
Hall was initially freed on a $5,000 unsecured appearance bond after her arraignment in December. Earlier this month Hall's bond was revoked for failure to abide by the conditions of her pretrial release though the exact nature of the violations is not mentioned in court documents. Pickett filed a motion asking that Hall's bond be reinstated after her arrest July 6 citing her pregnancy and her role as a mother of three. Hickey denied the motion several days after it was filed.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Wulff said the government intends to move for a dismissal of the first count of the indictment charging Hall with conspiracy and possession of counterfeit cash. Wulff said that Hall's plea agreement allows her to plead to the lesser counterfeiting charge and for dismissal of the conspiracy charge.
Hall, Sherry Collier and Scott Oglesby are named in the same indictment. Collier's case is scheduled for trial next month. Oglesby pleaded guilty to a separate indictment charging him with possession of counterfeit bills and was sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release in April. Oglesby told investigators he received the phony cash in his possession from Hall and Shane Turnage, who was charged with conspiracy to commit counterfeiting and possession of counterfeit bills in a separate indictment. His case is scheduled for trial next month as well.
Hall admitted that she and another, as yet unindicted individual, were supposed to split the proceeds of the illegal operation but that she feared her partner was taking more than half the profits. As part of her plea agreement, she agreed to forfeit a long list of computers, printers, flash drives and other property seized by police during the search of her apartment last year.
Hall will return to court for formal sentencing once a presentence report, including a recommendation for punishment under federal guidelines, is received by the court. Hall faces up to 20 years in federal prison, a fine up to $250,000, or both at sentencing.