Easy Off used to make fake $50 bills

Columbia Falls police nabbed a pair of alleged creative counterfeiters last week, after they allegedly tried to pass fake $50 bills on a couple of businesses here.

The counterfeit bills were actually $1 bills that had been treated with Easy-Off oven cleaner. The cleaner took the original ink off the bills and then the pair allegedly printed $50 bill markings on the paper with a $40 printer.

Police were able to nab the two women, Sonya Pitkin, 22, of Columbia Falls and Amanda Wyatt, 22, also of Columbia Falls, after they allegedly tried to pass the bills at Ferk's Casino Thursday night.

They then tried to do the same thing at Town Pump, where they were caught on surveillance tape. They were driving a Cadillac, which made them easier to find. Not too many people drive Cadillacs, Police Chief Dave Perry noted.

Police allegedly found some of the fake bills on the women, who later explained how they were able to make the bills. They reportedly told police they had used them all over the valley.

In addition to the counterfeiting charges, Pitkin faces prostitution charges after a man in Trego filed a complaint with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department claiming the two women may have stolen his checks and used them to get about $3,000 in cash.

The man told investigators that he met the women through a "friend finder" Web site, and that he allegedly paid Pitkin from $400 to $500 each time for sexual intercourse at motels, including ones in Whitefish. He claimed the checks were stolen when the two came to his house and he was distracted while one woman performed a lap dance.

Pitkin was charged with felony forgery in the check scheme and three counts of misdemeanor prostitution. Wyatt was charged with felony forgery in the check scheme as well, according to the county attorney's office.

The two voluntarily turned themselves in at the Flathead County Detention Center on Sunday night and posted $40,000 bonds on Monday.

The Secret Service, Whitefish and Columbia Falls police departments, and Flathead and Lincoln counties sheriff's departments worked on the case.