Washington woman sentenced in Montana to 1 ½ years in federal prison for conspiring to pass counterfeit money orders

HELENA — A Washington woman was sentenced Wednesday to 1½ years in federal prison for conspiracy to utter and possess forged securities with intent to deceive an organization.

This investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the U.S. Secret Service.

Kelly Lorraine Watts, 46, from Renton, Washington, was sentenced after pleading guilty May 20. Watts was sentenced 18 months in prison three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $30,360 in restitution.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Spraker, the government told the court that in August 2013, James Hernandez and Kelly Watts were arrested in Butte after Hernandez was caught attempting to pass a counterfeit money order. Law enforcement questioned Hernandez and Watts leading to the discovery that they had been passing counterfeit money orders to obtain goods and services in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana from December 2012 until they were arrested.

Law enforcement officers searched Hernandez's truck and discovered the following items:  70 money grams in envelopes with a woman's handwriting on the outside; several cashed money grams; a ledger in a woman's handwriting listing the names of casinos and stores; computer software, paper and cutting material commonly used to manufacture counterfeit money orders; and five Washington driver's licenses with Hernandez's picture, each with a different name.

A search of Watts's purse revealed loadable debit cards. During the investigation, Watts stated that she kept a ledger of locations where she and Hernandez cashed money orders and the orders' amounts. Several stores identified in receipts were contacted by law enforcement. It was discovered that fraudulent money orders had been used to purchase goods and services throughout Montana.

In addition, the investigation revealed that Hernandez had been manufacturing fraudulent money orders from November 2012 until his arrest in August 2013. While cashing money orders at various stores and casinos, Watts and Hernandez traveled to Hillsboro, Pendleton and Ontario, Oregon; Vancouver, Washington; and Kalispell, Montana. After purchasing merchandise using the fraudulent money orders, Watts and Hernandez waited a period of time before returning the items for cash.