The Washoe County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday that a Turlock man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for a fraud lab he had set up in Nevada.
Steve Jose Gil, 33, of Turlock, pled guilty earlier this year to one count of establishing or possessing a financial forgery laboratory.
Gil was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison for the crime.
His co-defendant, Julie Tovar, 31, of Turlock, pled guilty to burglary and conspiracy to possess a financial forgery lab. Tovar is due to be sentenced June 24 and faces one to 10 years in prison.
The investigation into this case began in December, 2014 when the Reno Police Department responded to the Atlantis Casino on a report of an attempt to pass a counterfeit $20 bill.
The subsequent investigation led to the arrest of Gil and Tovar after the fraud laboratory was located in his Atlantis hotel room, along with blank check stock, fraudulent credit cards, a counterfeit 100 dollar bill, a magnetic credit card reader and credit card embosser stock.
Authorities also discovered that Gil had used the names and information of other to secure the Atlantis room and two others at Harrah’s and Silver Legacy.
Gil has a history of committing fraud in California, where he has six felony convictions for fraud-related crimes and drug possession. During sentencing, the presiding judge categorized the crimes Gil committed as “sophisticated and planned,” according to the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office.
Gil will be eligible for parole in four years.
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