AUBURN -- A man who used counterfeit $20 bills to buy garden-variety items at two Auburn businesses was sentenced to five to 15 years in state prison.

Cayuga County Judge Peter Corning said Thursday his sentence might be different if Ron Craven, 25, of Auburn, had shown remorse and said he had made a mistake because of the pressure of financial hardship.

Instead, Corning said Craven lied when taking the witness stand during a May jury trial. Craven said he was not the person caught on videotape and identified by four witnesses making fraudulent purchases at Wal-Mart July 30 and Aug. 1 and T&K Hardware Aug. 7, Corning said.

Craven read prepared marks during his court statement, saying his family was behind in paying bills and facing going to a shelter since he was held in Cayuga County Jail.

"I feel less than a man because my family is suffering and I can't stop it," Craven said. "I've put my faith in God." Craven has three children. His partner attended his sentencing.

Craven tried to present himself during the trial as a well-to-do person involved with computers, but there was little substance to that, Corning said.

"If talking was music, you would be a big brass band," Corning said.

Craven was convicted in the jury trial of three felony charges of first-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and three misdemeanor petit larceny charges. His sentences for all six charges will run at the same time.

Read the full report in Friday's edition of The Citizen.