Six people indicted in extensive counterfeit money scheme in Northwest Ohio

BRYAN, Ohio (WANE) — Six people were charged in a counterfeit money scheme that stretched across four Ohio counties Tuesday after an investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, according to the Ohio Attorney General.

The suspects were accused of theft, identity fraud, cashing forged checks, using fake $20 bills and counterfeiting bank cards in the scheme, which lasted from June 2022 to January 2023 in Williams, Defiance, Fulton and Auglaize counties.

Cooper Rademacher, 21, and Kalie Gibler, 22, were each charged with nine felonies. Rademacher was charged with three counts of counterfeiting and one count each of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, identity fraud, forgery, breaking and entering, theft and possession of criminal tools. Gibler was charged with four counts of counterfeiting and one count each of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, identity fraud, forgery, theft and possessing criminal tools.

Noah Frisby, 23, was charged with one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and one count of counterfeiting. Dion Fleet, 23, and Brandon Randolph, 23, were each charged with one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, one count of identity fraud and one count of forgery. Dale Champion, 20, was charged with one count of identity fraud, one count of forgery and one count of theft.

No arrests have been made due to the scheme, but the Ohio Attorney General’s Office said that Rademacher and another suspect were incarcerated, Gibler was on probation and the other suspects were sent a summons.