BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- United States Attorney Lawrence G. Brown announced Friday that Wade William Grissom, 32, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty Thursday before United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to three counterfeiting counts, including manufacturing counterfeit currency, passing of counterfeit currency, and possessing digital and electronic images of U.S. currency for counterfeiting.

The case is the product of an extensive investigation by the United States Secret Service.

According to Assistant United States Attorney Kirk E. Sherriff, who is prosecuting the case, Grissom admitted in his plea that, between May 2008 and September 25, 2008, he acquired digital and electronic images of $100 bills and then used his computers and printer to manufacture counterfeit $100 bills using such images.

Once the counterfeit bills were produced, he passed the counterfeit currency or gave it to others to pass, Brown stated.

Additionally, on August 4, 2008, Grissom attempted to pass two counterfeit $100 bills at San Joaquin Tractor Supply in Bakersfield, Brown stated.

Investigation revealed that the images of $100 bills recovered from his laptop computers matched counterfeit $100 bills that had been passed to, and were recovered from, various merchants in Bakersfield and the surrounding area.

Paper images of counterfeit $100 bills, a cutting board, and a watermark stamping pad with green ink residue were also found at Grissom’s residence, Brown said.

Grissom is scheduled to be sentenced on December 18, 2009 at 10:30 a.m.

The manufacturing charge and the passing of counterfeit currency charge each carry a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a criminal fine of $250,000.

The maximum statutory penalty on the charge of possessing digital and electronic images of U.S. currency for counterfeiting is 25 years in prison and a criminal fine of $250,000.

However, the actual sentence will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables, and any applicable statutory sentencing factors.