Mississippi Duo Charged With Using Counterfeit Currency To Scam Pineville Jewelry Store Appear In Court

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Two men from Mississippi are facing federal charges for using counterfeit U.S. currency to purchase high-end watches and other jewelry from a retail store in Pineville, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Robert Lewis Elliott III, 36, and Devin Alonzo Elliott, 30, of Okolona, Mississippi, are each charged with conspiracy to pass counterfeit obligations and passing counterfeit obligations. The criminal indictment was filed in August 2025 and was unsealed today following the defendants' court appearance.

Steven Gutierrez, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Field Office, and Chief Michael Hudgins of the Pineville Police Department, join U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today's announcement.

According to allegations in the indictment, in June 2025, R. Elliott and D. Elliott traveled to Pineville, N.C., to carry out a scheme to defraud a jewelry store. The indictment alleges that, on June 26, 2025, the defendants and another individual entered the store and told a store employee they wanted to purchase approximately $300,000 in luxury watches and jewelry. The defendants allegedly provided a $1,000 cash deposit and agreed to return the following day to finalize the transaction.

The indictment further alleges that on June 27, 2025, the men returned to the store to complete the purchase. R. Elliott provided a $10,000 stack of genuine $100 bills to the store employee to be counted. After the employee verified the money using an electronic counter and a counterfeit detection pen, R. Elliott allegedly used a sleight-of-hand technique, to swap the authentic bills with a stack of counterfeit notes, before placing the counterfeit bills into the store's safe. He then recycled the same stack of genuine bills, repeating the process until all the counterfeit currency had been placed in the safe.

The indictment alleges that after the store employee finished counting the money, he requested for R. Elliott's identification to complete the sale. R. Elliott said he wanted to buy more jewelry and needed to go to his car to get more cash and his identification. The defendants then exited the store and fled, taking the watches and jewelry: a Patek Phillipe diamond watch ($90,000); an Audemars Piguet watch ($48,000); a Cartier watch ($25,000); four Rolex watches ($76,300); a rose Cuban link chain ($32,000); a gold bracelet ($17,500); a bangle bracelet ($8,200); diamond earrings ($1,000); and 24k pointer earrings ($2,000).

U.S. v. Elliott et al. - Counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes allegedly used by the defendants to execute the scheme

The defendants were released on bond. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison for conspiracy to pass counterfeit obligations, and 20 years in prison for passing counterfeit obligations. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The charges against the defendants are merely allegations and they are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

In making the announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the U.S. Secret Service and the Pineville Police Department for their work on the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.