Dr. Billy A. Cannon

Cannon pleaded guilty on July 16, 1983 — just six days after his arrest — to conspiracy and possession of counterfeit obligations in connection with a scheme to produce and distribute approximately $6 million in high-quality counterfeit $100 bills, described by federal agents as one of the largest counterfeiting operations ever uncovered in the United States. The scheme had its roots in January 1980, when Cannon — by then a successful orthodontist in Baton Rouge, having earned a D.D.S. from the University of Tennessee and an advanced orthodontics degree from Loyola in Chicago — met a neighbour named John Stiglets, a convicted counterfeiter, and gave him $15,000 to purchase a printing press. The counterfeiting operation was run out of a warehouse in Cleburne, Texas. Financial pressure was the driving force: bad real estate investments and mounting gambling debts had left Cannon in serious financial difficulty despite his prosperous dental practice. He was arrested on July 9, 1983, after Secret Service agents set up a sting in which he attempted to sell counterfeit currency to an undercover agent; authorities found fake bills buried in ice chests on property linked to Cannon and additional quantities stashed in closets at his orthodontist's office. All but approximately $1 million of the counterfeit notes was recovered. As part of the plea agreement, Cannon agreed to testify against four co-conspirators and other charges were dropped.