An indictment connected to a counterfeiting operation was handed down by a federal grand jury Sept. 16 in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas.
Scott Ryan Oglesby, 48, appeared Sept. 24 before a federal judge in Texarkana and case entries concerning him were unsealed the same day. However, the indictment, which is styled U.S. versus Hall, et. al, remains under seal. Federal indictments often remain sealed until all the defendants named appear in court.
But documents filed at the state court level accusing Oglesby of participating in a counterfeiting operation in Texarkana shed some light on the circumstances leading to the federal indictment. Members of the Texarkana, Ark., Police Department began an investigation in November 2014 that started with a fraudulent utility account.
Investigators received information that Shantrell Hall, 31, had opened accounts with Southwestern Electric Power Company for electricity using someone else’s name. When that person tried to get electricity hooked up for themselves, they were surprised to learn of an existing overdue bill in their name for approximately $800. The owner of two Ida Street houses in Texarkana, Ark., which were the addresses associated with the SWEPCO bill, told police he rented the homes to Shantrell Hall.
The same month, Hall was identified as the suspect in the sale of fake silver bars to C&L Pawn in Texarkana. Staff at the pawn shop claim they paid Hall $640 for a one kilogram bar Nov. 11, and $800 for two 20 ounce bars about a week later. When the pawn shop staff tried to exchange the silver for cash at an exchange, they learned they had been cheated. On Nov. 28, Hall allegedly tried to sell a fourth phony silver bar to C&L. When confronted, Hall fled in a white Ford Expedition, leaving behind a worthless 100 ounce bar.
Investigators then received information that Hall was printing fake cash in a unit at the Fox Creek Apartments in Texarkana. On Dec. 9, detectives headed to the Fox Creek Apartments with warrants for Hall’s arrest in hand. Inside the apartment, officers recovered printers, scanners, a box of gold flakes, forged U.S. currency and ledgers containing the names and social security numbers of numerous people.
The currency recovered included 93 $100 bills, 23 printed $100 bills still on printer paper, six printed $50 bills still on printer paper, two printed $20 bills still on printer paper, 29 printed $10 bills still on printed paper and 31 printed $1 bills still on paper.
Several ledgers, notebooks, and note cards were found which listed the names, social security numbers, dates of birth and an account number to a credit or debit card for 14 people. Ledgers containing the names, dates of birth and social security numbers of 20 people without an associated credit or debit card number. Among those names was the victim whose information had been used to open a fraudulent account for electricity.
Investigators also found credit cards, debit cards, and checks that didn’t belong to Hall or anyone else present in the apartment at the time of the search. An assortment of printers, computers, scanners, and other electronic devices were seized as were hard drives, flash drives, and laptop computers.
Hall is not in custody. Oglesby was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond following an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Caroline Craven on a single counterfeiting charge. Oglesby’s case is set for trial next month.
Steven Shane Turnage, 43, was arrested by Texarkana, Ark., police during their search at the Fox Creek Apartments Dec. 9. Turnage is charged in Miller County with 245 counts of counterfeiting.
