A man has been jailed after setting up a counterfeit currency production line to make fake banknotes.
Lee Mitchell was sentenced yesterday at Leeds Crown Court after being found guilty of conspiracy to create fake currency.
The 54-year-old from Morley set up his operation in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
The court heard how Mitchell’s operation was specifically set up to produce counterfeit Royal Bank of Scotland £20 notes.
When police forced entry to the address on February 7, 2024, the force found £380,000 worth of notes being made.
Despite the operation being foiled before any bogus money entered circulation, prosecutors revealed the materials stockpiled could have generated millions of pounds in false currency had the factory been replenished with fresh supplies.
Mitchell’s conviction marks his second major counterfeiting offence, having previously received a substantial prison term in 2010 for running comparable illegal operations.
Mitchell had gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal his involvement in the scheme.
Lee Mitchell was found guilty of conspiracy to create fake currency
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WEST YORKSHIRE POLICE
The court heard he acquired equipment and supplies through others’ eBay accounts, made cash payments using false identities, and travelled across the country to obtain materials whilst avoiding any traceable connections.
In an effort to minimise his digital footprint, Mitchell deliberately avoided owning a smartphone and secured the Rochdale unit without any formal rental agreement.
Judge Rayfield noted in the summer of 2023 he “set up a counterfeit company and bought machinery and materials in a way that would leave no trace,” adding he “stored machinery in your locker” and these steps were all “deliberate”.
During sentencing, Judge Kate Rayfield emphasised Mitchell’s central position in the criminal enterprise.
Mitchell was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court
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“You plainly held a leading role. You had already started the leg work of obtaining machinery. You were the main organiser,” she told him, describing his elaborate precautions as “deliberate to allow him to go undetected”.
The judge referenced Mitchell’s criminal history, noting he had served a 10-and-a-half-year prison sentence after establishing similar counterfeit facilities in Leeds and North Wales in 2010.
His earlier operation had successfully produced significant quantities of fake £20 notes, many of which had already entered general circulation before police intercepted a £500,000 consignment being transported from Wales to Guiseley.
Alongside the seven-year custodial sentence, Mitchell received a serious crime prevention order extending for five years from his release date.
Mitchell was found guilty of a similar counterfeit offence in 2010 (alongside four others)
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WEST YORKSHIRE POLICE
The order will impose restrictions on his activities designed to prevent him from engaging in further criminal conduct.
John Sutcliffe, aged 42 from Gale Street in Rochdale, received considerably more lenient treatment due to his peripheral role in the conspiracy.
The court accepted Sutcliffe had been legitimately employed at the industrial premises when Mitchell commenced his criminal activities there.
Judge Rayfield acknowledged Sutcliffe found himself “placed in a difficult position” when the counterfeiting operation began around him.
She told him: “You could not escape what was happening in front of your eyes and knew what was going on – you just facilitated access to the unit due to your role.”
Despite being handed a 20-month prison term, Sutcliffe walked free from court yesterday, having already completed his sentence through time spent on remand awaiting trial.
A third defendant, Stanley Carnall, is scheduled to receive his sentence in January.
Additionally, two further individuals from Rochdale and Liverpool have been charged in connection with the investigation and will face court proceedings at a future date.