The Story Untold: Barry Billcliff and Three Others Declared Innocent by the Court Over Antique Money Case   – The Village Voice

Four friends – Barry Billcliff, Timothy Crebase, Matt Ingham, and Kevin Kozak were embroiled in a legal battle known as the “Antique Money Case,” which began with their arrest in 2005. Authorities accused the group of stealing antique money they found while digging up in a backyard in Methuen.

Despite the sensational media coverage and the severe personal repercussions they faced, the court ultimately found no evidence against them, dismissing the case with prejudice and permanently closing it.

Behind the Case

In 2005, Billcliff, Crebase, Ingham, and Kozak were embroiled in a high-profile legal case after finding a trove of antique money, consisting of 1,800 banknotes dating from 1899 to 1928 and valued at approximately $4 million, the largest find of antique US currency in documented history, while digging up a barn in Newbury, Massachusetts.

The Methuen Police Department arrested Billcliff and his friends before having any victim file a case. In a rush to file a dispute, they dragged the victim, Sylvia Littlefield, and they kept on insisting that the money came from her house. Billcliff explains how Littlefield was chosen as one of seven potential victims by the Methuen Police Department as they thought she could work for their case because of her vulnerabilities as a little old lady.

However, no physical evidence even tried to link the money to that property. Littlefield never once claimed that the money could possibly come from her property. She was a victim in this matter, a victim that the police thought would be best for the made-up story they wanted to put out.

Littlefield was exhausted by being involved in the case and mentioned, “If it’s mine, then give it back, and if it’s not, then leave me alone.“ She even put caution tape and ‘No Trespassing’ signs up all over her yard because the press was harassing her so severely. A random officer thought her house and that she was a little old lady farmer fit the case well for his narrative.

The only basis for the police’s charges was Timothy Crebase, who has a mental illness and learning disability. The police thought that Crebase’s inconsistent details were enough to bring the charges, but the detectives did not know about his mental issues. For this reason, they said he was lying and pressed charges.

According to Billcliff, the Methuen Police Department used coercive tactics, including presenting a breathalyzer as a lie detector, to make him confess to a narrative they were trying to construct.

Despite all these, there was no victim because the original story of Billcliff digging the money up was 100% accurate. They even had a ton of evidence and professional witnesses to verify that the money was stored in a crate underground covered in soil that could only be from Methuen City around the Merrimack River.

Because of these, the case never proceeded beyond a probable cause hearing because the prosecution failed to present any evidence, and no victim ever stood up that could justify moving forward; all are just made-up stories. The judge dismissed the case ‘without prejudice,’ giving them one year to reenter the charges.

The police officers did file another charge. Billcliff knew that the police department’s motivation to press charges again was to keep the auction money amounting to $7.24 million, which they had already started planning for. However, despite all these efforts, the judge found no evidence proving it was even a possibility that a crime may have occurred. The case was dismissed twice due to lack of evidence, the second time with prejudice, preventing it from being reopened.

This lengthy legal battle, marred by intense media scrutiny, public speculation, and lies, ended with the court declaring Billcliff and his friends entirely innocent and closing the case. The police even apologized to the team for accusing them of the alleged theft of the anti-currency.

Post-Case Situation and Moving On

This decision was a long-awaited relief for the four individuals who had endured years of accusations and missed opportunities. Because of the case’s negative implications, the team’s supposed appearance and interview for TV shows such as “Ellen DeGeneres,” “Good Morning America,” “The Today Show,” “Jimmy Kimmel,” “Jay Leno,” and others sharing the historical treasure they found were canceled.

Billcliff was not allowed to work because his face had a bad reputation as a thief ripping off a little old lady. Their record label dropped Ingham’s band and shunned them. The negative publicity surrounding the case prevented them from performing any shows. Kozak faced similar hardships. He lost his job and moved to New York because his property became a media circus, ultimately destroying his relationships.

The friends were all arrested yet were completely cleared of all wrongdoing in the eyes of the law. Unfortunately, they were never given that opportunity in the court of public opinion. The false accusation also removed the public’s eyes on the largest stash of antique U.S. currency in documented history or what happened to it.

Billcliff on the Present

Billcliff brought the money to the police station; he was one of the last two to possess the entire collection. After the case, the collection was returned to him, but since a new news outlet showed no interest in the case after he was found not guilty, he didn’t bother to let any of them know what he did with the money.

Despite its significant value and historical importance–the largest stash of antique money US currency found in history and a collection worth over $4 million with offers over $7 million–Billcliff chose not to disclose what happened to it.

Billcliff shares an interesting story. He was recently asked, after almost 20 years, by his friend what happened to the money. He had a very clever answer.

“In the last 20 years, you’re the first person ever seriously to ask me that seriously. And for that reason, not a single person in the world knows. Even my ex-wife, Nichole, never once bothered to ask while we were married. Even my son never bothered to ask. Nobody asked, so I told nobody. The money disappeared in 1928 and was gone for 77 years before we found it. Now it’s gone again, and unless somebody finds it, ask me again in 2082.”

Two decades have passed, and Billcliff, Crebase, Ingham, and Kozak have rebuilt their lives and moved on. They remained friends and still talked to each other quite often. The team admits that they are not quite at the point yet where they can laugh about what happened, as the story of their innocence remains overshadowed by past allegations.

Billcliff and his friends have already made peace with the story that changed their lives 20 years ago, but they believe their story of innocence should be told.