U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced Wednesday that John E. Williams, 33, of Gray, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to passing counterfeit U.S. currency.

According to court documents, on Nov. 15, 2012, Williams used a counterfeit $100 bill to buy $18.51 worth of merchandise at the Advanced Auto Parts store in Windham. On Nov. 26, 2012, he used a counterfeit $50 bill to buy kerosene at the Big Apple store in Windham. The counterfeit currency was created with an inkjet printer and bleached currency of lower denominations. Law enforcement agents searched the defendant’s residence in Raymond and his vehicles on Nov. 28, 2012, and seized counterfeiting materials, Delahanty said.

Williams faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office, Delahanty said.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, the Scarborough, Windham, Raymond, Paris, Oxford, Saco, Kittery, and Auburn police departments, and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.