By Stephen Hemelt
L’Observateur

NEW ORLEANS — A local man faces a year in jail following his sentencing in a counterfeiting scheme.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite said Ellis Ranson III, 28, of LaPlace was sentenced Wednesday to 12 months and one day imprisonment followed by two years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval Jr.

Ranson previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pass fictitious obligations.

Polite said the case gained momentum after special agents from the United States Secret Service, New Orleans Field Office, investigated an attempted pass of a counterfeit payroll check at Walmart on Veterans Boulevard in Kenner. Through their investigation, Polite said, the agents discovered Ranson produced the counterfeit payroll check.

According to court documents, Ranson manufactured the counterfeit checks for negotiation at Walmart stores. He worked with others, who would cash the counterfeit checks at Walmart stores and return to him to split the proceeds.

Polite praised the work of the Secret Service, adding Assistant U.S. Attorney Loan Mimi Nguyen was in charge of the prosecution.