A Jefferson man involved in a forgery ring pleaded guilty to several forgery and theft charges in Lincoln County Superior Court on June 30.
Daroyl Wilson, 21, of Jefferson, received a five-year sentence with all but one year suspended and three years probation. He must also pay a yet-to-be-determined amount in restitution to several victims.
Authorities say Wilson, with the help and guidance of Franklin Arbour Jr., of China, printed counterfeit currency and fraudulent payroll checks in the summer of 2010. The pair is believed to have printed more than $10,000 in fraudulent checks, Assistant District Attorney Deb Cashman said during the June 30 hearing.
Cashman described Wilson as the liaison between Arbour and several alleged accomplices, who authorities believe used the counterfeit bills at stores and brought change back to Wilson, she said.
Arbour, Wilson and the other men successfully cashed nearly half of the payroll checks, authorities said last summer.
A total of eight men face or have faced charges in the case. One pleaded guilty to related forgery and theft charges in April. Three more, including Arbour, were scheduled to appear in court July 5.
Information about the outcome of those appearances was unavailable at press time.
Wilson was serving the final hours of a jail term for violating bail conditions at the time of his hearing; he was ordered to report to jail for his forgery sentence on July 3.
The codefendants stood together as Justice Nancy Mills read the 61 charges against them. They are each charged with 21 counts of burglary, 22 counts of theft and 18 counts of criminal mischief, according to court documents.
The complaint names 23 separate victims in Bremen, Bristol, Damariscotta and Nobleboro, whom authorities believe the pair burglarized and stole from between March 1 and April 6 of this year.
They are expected to appear before the next available grand jury for possible indictment. Both are currently out on bail.
