Counterfeit convictions handed down

A Chickaloon resident was convicted Friday by a jury in U.S. District Court on one count of transferring counterfeit money as genuine money.

Anice E. Williams was convicted along with six others who federal investigators say manufactured $7,350 in phony $100 bills on a computer scanner last June and July and spent the money at stores in Anchorage, Wasilla and Palmer.

Those already convicted in the scheme are Arthur Williams Sr., of Chickaloon, Natalie Williams and Arthur Williams Jr., of Texas who visited Alaska in 2001 when the counterfeiting scheme was in operation, and James and Vicki Shanigan, residents of Wasilla.

They apparently were caught when bank clerks and stores reported there was something out of the ordinary about the bills. The money was spent at Anchorage's Fifth Avenue Mall, Northway Mall, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Carrs and Fred Meyers. Fake money also showed up in Texas where Natalie and Williams Jr., lived, according to a release from the U.S. District Attorney's office.

In an indictment returned by a federal grand jury last August, it was alleged that Williams Jr., and his wife and father manufactured several counterfeit $100 dollar bills beginning around June 15, 2001, when the couple returned to Alaska for a visit. Williams Sr., and his wife, Anice, then transferred a substantial amount of the money to the Shanigans, who were recruited into the scheme to pass the bills to local merchants.

Anice Williams is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 25. She faces a statutory maximum sentence on the conspiracy charge of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.