JACKSONVILLE, Fla — A woman accused of using counterfeit money in 2 Northeast Florida counties pleaded guilty to federal charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
Rhea Rhea Markland, of Panama City, has pleaded to four counts for passing counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes and faces up to 20 years of federal prison. Markland will also have to pay restitution to those she defrauded.
Markland, according to court documents, entered businesses in Brevard and Clay counties, Duval County, Seminole County, and bought gift cards and merchandise with counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes in 2022.
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Police subsequently discovered that Markland stayed at the Comfort Inn Palm Bay with her co defendant, Neal Evan Pollman.
In November of 2022 the Palm Bay Police Department carried out a search at the Comfort Inn, where Markland’s body was discovered.
In her bedroom, authorities discovered approximately $30,000 worth of counterfeit currency as well as an HP printer used for printing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes.
Pollman and Markland were in Federal Court on April 27, 2023. According to a writ, they had been transferred from the Bay County Jail to Jacksonville, where they were serving jail time for violating state probation over multiple charges relating to passing counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes.
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The court ordered Pollman Markland to be detained until their trial.
Pollman was accused of one count of fabricating counterfeit Federal Reserve bills and nine counts for passing counterfeit Federal Reserve currency. He will be tried in July 2023.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, “An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.“
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This case was investigated by multiple law enforcement agencies including, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Palm Bay Police Department, the Orange Park Police Department, and the Jacksonville Field Office of the United States Secret Service.
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