Crime

Two metro-east residents sentenced to prison for attempting to manufacture U.S. currency

Two metro-east residents have been sent to prison for conspiring to manufacture U.S. currency.

Michael Bell, 33, of Granite City, and Kelly Seeger, 37, of O’Fallon, were sentenced to serve 15 months and 18 months, respectively, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Illinois.

The two were indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2018 on charges of manufacturing counterfeit bills and possessing items and equipment necessary for counterfeiting between November 2017 and April 2018, the release stated.

Bell was sentenced on Friday, while Seeger was sentenced Thursday. According to the release, Seeger’s sentence was higher because she had a more extensive criminal history. At the hearing, the judge stated that the two counterfeited currency was a symptom of their “downward spiral with the use of methamphetamine.”

Both Bell and Seeger will have to serve three years of supervised release following their prison sentences, the judge ruled.

This story was originally published April 15, 2019 at 4:07 PM.

Hana Muslic
Belleville News-Democrat
Hana Muslic has been a public safety reporter for the Belleville News-Democrat since August 2018, covering everything from crime and courts to accidents, fires and natural disasters. She is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Journalism and her previous work can be found in The Lincoln Journal-Star and The Kansas City Star.
Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER