St. Louis, MO - Daniel Halford, 24, of St. Louis County, was indicted on November 15th of conspiring to make, utter, and possess counterfeit securities; three counts of possessing counterfeit securities, one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm; and one count of possessing stolen mail.
The indictment alleges that between Aug. 17, 2018 and Oct. 23, 2018, Halford on multiple occasions produced counterfeit checks for the purpose of passing them at stores in the St. Louis area. The checks were drawn on both non-existent and actual accounts. One of the actual accounts Halford attempted to use belonged to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department. Halford had been arrested with counterfeit security making implements several times in rooms at different hotels in the metropolitan area. In the latest of these arrests, occurring at the Hollywood Casino Hotel, Halford was found to be in possession of a firearm having been previously convicted of a felony offense.
If convicted, Halford faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a fine of not more than $250,000. Restitution to the victim is also mandatory. In determining the actual sentences, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department, Maryland Heights Police Department, Breckinridge Hills Police Department and St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. John Ware is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s office.
As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
