Counterfeiters busted in Hattiesburg

Six southeast Mississippi residents face charges of passing counterfeit money in a scheme stretching back until at least 2016.

Wednesday the federal court in Hattiesburg charged Richard Crabtree, Richard Cochran, Katie Tate, Kimberly Lynn Hutchinson, Christopher Bishop and Tyler Perry. The indictment says the six possessed and passed bogus bills in Waynesboro and elsewhere.

Wayne County Sheriff Jody Ashley says the ring was a sophisticated operation for printing and distributing fake currency. Christopher Bishop is also charged with murder in a 2014 shooting, but has yet to be tried.