A Waterville man has pleaded guilty to selling counterfeit coins throughout the state.
Mwashuma M. Sithole, 31, entered his plea in U.S. District Court on Monday after admitting to selling and pawning counterfeit Morgan dollar coins, according to United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II.
The Morgan dollar is a U.S. coin that was minted from 1878 to 1904, and again in 1921.
Sithole has been ordering the coins, which were made in China, online since May 2014 at $2 apiece. According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the coins resembled genuine Morgan dollar coins in appearance, design and weight.
Sithole sold and pawned the coins, while knowing they were fake, in Augusta, Newport, Farmington, Lewiston and South Portland in 2014, Delahanty said.
A total of 1,200 counterfeit coins were seized when Sithole was arrested on a warrant at his residence in January.
He faces up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and he may be ordered to pay restitution. He will also forfeit all of the coins seized from him.
He will be sentenced after a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
The investigation was conducted by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the Augusta, Waterville, Auburn, Lewiston, South Portland and Newport Police Departments, the Maine State Police and the United States Secret Service.
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