Two local counterfeiters plead guilty

VW independent staff

TOLEDO — Two Van Wert residents accused of manufacturing and passing counterfeit money have pleaded guilty to federal charges.

In a plea deal with prosecutors, Paul Bakle and Katrina Shaw recently appeared in U.S. District Court, Northern Ohio District, and admitted to charges of passing counterfeit money. In exchange, charges of manufacturing counterfeit money were dismissed.

Bakle and Shaw made phony bills ranging from $5 to $100, then passed them at various businesses in Van Wert, Delphos and in Defiance County.

The two were arrested in early January in Defiance County. Van Wert Police executed a search warrant at their W. Maple St. residence and recovered a sizable amount of counterfeit money, along with items and materials needed to make phony bills. The case was eventually taken over by the Secret Service.

Bakle and Shaw are scheduled to be sentenced in November.