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Jason Christian Evans, 51, purchased fake currency on Abacus Market, a dark web marketplace, and used it at multiple grocery stores across Pennsylvania.
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Evans launched the scheme just weeks after completing a federal prison sentence for bank fraud, crossing state lines and violating the terms of his supervised release.
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Investigators found his laptop loaded with guides on aging counterfeit bills and techniques for defeating counterfeit-detection pens.
A Dundalk man turned to the dark web to fund his next crime spree, and it cost him more than two years of his freedom. Jason Christian Evans, 51, is heading back to federal prison after authorities unraveled a counterfeit currency scheme he launched almost immediately after wrapping up a prior sentence for bank fraud.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland confirmed the sentencing. A federal judge ordered Evans to serve 32 months in prison. On top of that, the court added three years of supervised release once his prison term ends. Evans pleaded guilty to purchasing counterfeit obligations or securities.
Back on the Dark Web Weeks After Release
Evans walked out of prison and returned to criminal behavior within weeks. In late January 2025, he violated the conditions of his supervised release by traveling to Pennsylvania. That trip carried a purpose.
Evans brought counterfeit Federal Reserve notes with him and used them to make purchases at no fewer than five Weis Markets and Giant Food Store locations scattered across the state.
His approach showed planning, not impulse. Evans did not source the fake bills from a street-level connection. He went to Abacus Market, a dark web marketplace, and placed his order using an HP laptop. Dark web marketplaces like Abacus have become hubs for all kinds of criminal activity, including two recent child exploitation cases where US courts handed down prison sentences.
According to his own confession, he knew exactly what platform to use and how to navigate it. The scheme moved along for a while. It attracted no immediate attention. But it did not last.
Search Warrant Leads Investigators to a Digital Playbook
Federal officers executed a search warrant at Evans’s home in Baltimore County in April 2025. The sweep turned up two cellphones, five computers (the HP laptop among them), and several counterfeit-detecting pens.
The devices told a story that went well beyond the purchases in Pennsylvania. A forensic analysis of the laptop pulled up multiple zip files containing detailed instructions on how to make fake currency look old and well-circulated, the kind of wear that helps counterfeit bills slide past a quick visual check.
The same laptop held a video tutorial walking through methods to defeat counterfeit-detection pens, the tools that store cashiers rely on to catch fake bills at checkout.
Evans was not winging it. According to prosecutors, the material on his devices pointed clearly to preparation and intent. He studied how to make his scheme last longer and avoid detection. That research ended up being central to the case against him.
Court Sends Evans Back to Prison for Over Two Years
The evidence stacked up cleanly. Evans confessed to buying the counterfeit currency on Abacus Market and using it at grocery stores across Pennsylvania. His digital devices filled in the rest, showing a man who approached counterfeiting with deliberate research and careful method, not desperation.
A federal judge sentenced Evans to 32 months in federal prison, a stretch slightly longer than two years and a sharper consequence than his previous conviction. The court also tacked on three years of supervised release to follow his prison sentence, extending the government’s oversight of his activities well beyond his release date.
The case draws attention to how easily the dark web now hands criminal tools to anyone willing to pay. Counterfeit currency, once the work of skilled forgers with specialized equipment, now moves through online marketplaces with buyer reviews and delivery options. Evans needed a laptop and a credit line on a dark web market to walk away with bills designed to pass at a grocery checkout.
For retailers, the case is a reminder that counterfeit-detection pens are not foolproof. Evans was actively researching how to beat them. For federal investigators, it reinforces that digital evidence often tells more than surveillance footage ever could. The trail that brought Evans down did not start at a cash register. It started on a hard drive.
