Aroostook County men charged with counterfeiting

BANGOR – Two Aroostook County men were indicted by a federal grand jury this week on charges they made and passed counterfeit money to several businesses in northern Maine.

Jamie L. Smith, 20, of Presque Isle, is charged with three counts of making at least 13 counterfeit $10 bills and passing them on to others.

Joseph Thayer, 22, address unknown, is charged with three counts of passing fake $10 bills at a convenience store and two gas stations in Aroostook County.

Smith, if convicted, faces a possible maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. His attorney was notified of the indictment. Smith remains free pending an initial appearance.

Penalty and detention status on Thayer was unknown Thursday.

The indictments were handed up Sept. 25.

Others indicted were:

. Brett Reid, 20, address unknown, one count of importing the drug Dilaudid into the United States from Canada through a Washington County border crossing. He is jailed pending an initial court appearance.

. Travis L. Smith, 26, Princeton one count of possession of a firearm by a felon and one count of possession of a firearm not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Penalty and detention information was not available Thursday.

. Francois Guagni, 41, of France was indicted on a charge of attempted illegal re-entry into the United States after deportation. The offense allegedly occurred in mid-September in Washington County. If convicted, he faces a possible two years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. He is jailed pending a court appearance.

. Augustin Paniagua-Garcia, 47, Mexico, was indicted and charged with entry into the United States without inspection, possession of fraudulent identification documents and being found in the United States after deportation. If convicted, he faces a possible five years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. He is jailed pending court appearances.