ROCKLAND – Rockland Police charged two people Aug. 21 for allegedly using counterfeit money to bail an inmate from the Knox County Jail.

Gary Gilbert, 56, of Rockland, was charged with aggravated forgery and violating a condition of release.

Jessica Gray, 35, with no address listed in the court document, was issued a summons for aggravated forgery.

Gilbert made his initial court appearance Aug. 23 before Judge Sarah Gilbert who set his bail at $1,000 cash. He will be on supervised release after he posts bail.

According to the affidavit filed in Knox County Court by Rockland Police, former Knox County Sheriff Donna Dennison, who is a bail commissioner at the Knox County Jail, contacted police on Aug. 21 about a case of fraud at the jail the day before.

Dennison reported to police that Gray had paid $560 in cash to bail out her sister Nikki Gray. The bail amount was $500 plus a $60 commissioner’s fee. The transaction occurred at the jail’s lobby on Aug. 20.

Dennison then made a $500 night deposit at the Camden National Bank in Rockland. She received a call the next morning, Aug. 21, from the bank and was told that five $20 bills were identified as counterfeit.

Each of the bills had the word “copy” printed on the left side corner and had the same serial numbers, police said in the affidavit.

Police examined the money at the bank and noted the bills felt like regular paper and not the kind used for currency. The bank would not release the bills to the police because they were being sent to the F.B.I., according to the bank’s policy.   

Gray was interviewed by police and she denied noticing that anything was different about the money. She said that she had received the money from Gilbert.

When Gilbert was interviewed by police, he said he had given Gray the money but denied he knew the bills were counterfeit, according to the affidavit.

Police arrested Gilbert and transported him to the Knox County Jail.

He is scheduled to appear in court again on Oct. 3 for a dispositional conference.

Reach Sarah Shepherd at news@penbaypilot.com