Jail for man who spent £6,000 in counterfeit money

A prolific offender has been jailed for more than three years after going on spending sprees with more than £6,000 in counterfeit cash.

Johnathan Nolan, 34, of Cherry Grove, Scunthorpe, used fake £20 notes to buy mobile phones being sold on Facebook Marketplace and in High Street shops before he was arrested by Humberside Police in October 2025.

He went on to use more counterfeit money while he was on bail to buy things including televisions and Christmas cards in Scunthorpe and Grimsby.

Det Con Callum Harbron said Nolan had "no consideration of the impact this would have on those who were led to believe they were selling their goods for genuine cash".

Nolan was found guilty at Grimsby Magistrates' Court on 11 February of five counts of tendering counterfeit currency and seven counts of having counterfeit currency.

He had previously pleaded guilty on 3 February to two counts of shop thefts and three breaches of suspended sentence orders.

On Friday, he was sentenced at Grimsby Crown Court to three years and three months in jail and ordered to pay a £228 victim surcharge.

Harbron said: "This was a complex investigation where we worked closely with the National Crime Agency, enabling us to prevent fake notes circulating across North and North East Lincolnshire and leaving businesses and members of the public with worthless cash."

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