A serial fraudster who offered to pay with fake £50 notes in two Powys towns will be sentenced by a judge early next month.
Thomas Malone, 33, pleaded guilty to three counts of using counterfeit bank notes in Welshpool and Newtown over a period of three days in late 2021.
Appearing via video link from HMP Birmingham wearing a grey jumper, the Warwickshire man admitted that on Tuesday, November 30, and Wednesday, December 1, 2021 he offered to pay with a fake £50 note in Newtown. The following day on Thursday, December 2, he tried his luck using a counterfeit £50 note in Welshpool.
Welshpool Magistrates' Court heard from Malone's solicitor Chris Saunders that the 33-year-old has "outstanding matters" at Warwick and Nottingham Crown Courts after he pleaded guilty to having counterfeit cash and fake number plates.
Magistrates told Malone that his sentencing will be committed to Mold Crown Court for Thursday, March 2, and he must remain in custody until that date.
According to the Bank of England, some 74,000 counterfeit banknotes with a nominal face value of £1.7 million were taken out of circulation in early 2022.
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