Newport-A U.S. Secret Service special agent on Tuesday, Oct. 27, filed a federal criminal complaint against five residents of Cocke County, in U.S. District Court in Greeneville.

Four men and one woman were arrested Wednesday, Oct. 28, and charged with federal charges related to making and distributing counterfeit money.

Special Agent Douglas M. Allen filed the federal criminal complaint.

It named as defendants Joie Lee Warden, 36, of 130 Curry Way, in Del Rio; Charles Wayne Sprouse, 30, of 250 Curry Way, in Del Rio; Robert A. Webber Jr., 26, of 1242 Evans Valley Road, in Newport; Mark Anthony Evans, 28, and Misty Lee McMahan, 34, both of 1500 Susong Cemetery Road, in Newport.

All five were charged with falsely making, forging and counterfeiting obligations of the United States, uttering and possessing counterfeit obligations of the United States, dealing in counterfeit obligations of the United States, and conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, according to a press release by Newport Police Chief Maurice Shults.

Court records indicate that Warden, Sprouse and Webber made initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis Inman on Wednesday. Warden and Sprouse were apparently released on bond pending further court proceedings.

Judge Inman ordered Webber detained pending trial.

Webber, according to the order of detention, has a "criminal history" that includes at least two violations of probation, aggravated assault, resisting arrest, failure to appear, evading arrest, assault on a government employee, and escape.

Evans, meanwhile, was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal following an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Greeneville on Thursday. Detention and preliminary hearings for Evans were scheduled for Friday, Nov. 6, at 1:30 p.m.

A Newport Police Department press release issued last week said, "Over the course of the past several months, at least $5,149 in counterfeit U.S. currency has been confiscated in Newport as part of an ongoing investigation into the inundation of the local economy with counterfeit currency."

It continued, "The bills, ranging from $1 to $100 denominations, have been surfacing in retail businesses, restaurants, motels, and banks."

Det. Lynn Shults has been the lead investigator for the cases that began in July, the release stated. He told the Newport Plain Talk on Friday that more arrests in Cocke County tied to counterfeit bills were expected soon.

The investigation has lead to the retrieval of forty-two $100 bills, four $50 bills, twenty-two $20 bills, sixteen $10 bills, twenty-eight $5 bills, and nine $1 bills inside the city limits of Newport.

Chief Shults was quoted in the release as saying, "I can't say enough about the cooperation between the Newport Police Department, the Cocke County Sheriff's Department, and the United States Secret Service."

The release noted that "Detectives Lynn Shults of the Newport Police Department and Bryan Murr of the Cocke County Sheriff's Department have been comparing, identifying, and cataloging approximately 500 counterfeit bills that total $16,787."

The federal investigation reportedly began after Agent Allen of the U.S. Secret Service was notified by Det. Shults on Oct. 22 that on Oct. 16 a Newport man had passed a counterfeit $10 bill at the Mapco convenience store.

Allen wrote in an affidavit, "In my experience conducting counterfeit investigations, I have noted that ivory resume paper, color copier machines, and paper cutters are almost always discovered during the course of a counterfeit currency investigation where drug users are involved."

He added, "Drug users typically will use counterfeit currency to either purchase drugs on a small scale or utilize large amounts of counterfeit currency to 'rip off' other drug dealers. Drug dealers will also pass counterfeit currency on to local drug dealers as change for larger denominations given in the purchase of illegal drugs."