Woman Arrested in Counterfeit $100 Bill Investigation Affecting Sequim and Port Angeles Businesses

A 28-year-old Tacoma-area woman was arrested Monday in an investigation into suspected counterfeit $100 bills used at businesses in Sequim and Port Angeles, according to the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.

Meagan Kelly Norgard was booked into the Clallam County Jail on November 9 on suspicion of two counts of forgery stemming from the sheriff’s investigation, the agency said on Tuesday.

The Sheriff’s office also reported additional charges associated with a related Sequim police investigation but did not identify those offenses. The sheriff’s office said her bail was set at $1,500.

The investigation began with a report that a counterfeit $100 bill had been used to buy merchandise at Olympic Game Farm on Ward Road in Sequim on November 8.

Deputy Tyler Leisten reviewed surveillance footage showing a woman making the purchase with a bill that the business’s currency verification machine rejected multiple times, according to the release.

The bill appeared to pass a subsequent check with a counterfeit detection pen, and the employee completed the sale.

Further examination revealed inconsistencies in the bill’s printed serial numbers, the sheriff’s office said.

Leisten learned that Sequim police were investigating a related incident. Deputies and officers contacted Norgard in the Home Depot parking lot in Sequim at about 1:06 p.m. Monday.

Investigators linked Norgard to another suspected counterfeit $100 bill used to buy merchandise at Big 5 Sporting Goods in Sequim, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies recovered the suspected counterfeit bills associated with both transactions.

Law enforcement obtained a search warrant and found printers, printing supplies and additional suspected counterfeit currency, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said investigators had identified other affected businesses in both Sequim and Port Angeles. The investigation remained ongoing Tuesday, and the agency said additional victims and criminal charges could be identified.

The sheriff’s office urged businesses to check more than one security feature when accepting large bills, including watermarks, security threads and color-shifting ink.

It cautioned against relying solely on detection pens, particularly when a verification machine has already rejected a bill.

Businesses that believe they received counterfeit currency should call Clallam County Dispatch at 360-417-2459, option 1, and preserve the bills, transaction receipts and available surveillance footage, the agency said.