Hearing held in forgery case

SANDPOINT — A preliminary hearing was recently held for a Montana woman who is accused of passing off counterfeit $20 bills at the Sandpoint Farmer’s Market.

Crystal Jo Hanna is charged with nine counts of forgery.

Hanna, 31, is accused of passing $260 worth of bogus currency at 12 different booths on Sept. 22, 2018, according to a probable cause affidavit. Hanna’s distinctive appearance, which included facial piercings and a swastika tattoo on her chest, made her easy to identify using social media, the affidavit said. A confidential informant also helped identify Hanna.

Hanna made small purchases with the counterfeit bills in order to receive real currency as change, according to court documents.

Some of the fake bills had the same serial numbers and all of the bills lacked counterfeiting countermeasures such as the embedded security thread and watermarks, court documents indicate.

Hanna was arrested in Billings, Mont., in March.

Forgery is punishable by up to 14 years in prison, according to Idaho Code.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.