LOGAN — A 52-year-old Wellsville woman was arrested Thursday after allegedly using movie-prop money to load funds onto a PayPal card at a local convenience store and taking real cash as change, according to law enforcement.
Heather Dahrl Hennick was booked into the Cache County Jail on suspicion of second-degree felony money laundering, Class A misdemeanor theft and Class A misdemeanor unlawful use of technology to defraud. Her arrest followed an investigation by the Logan Police Department.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, officers responded to a 7-Eleven gas station Thursday morning after a store clerk reported receiving counterfeit bills during a transaction.
The clerk told police that a woman, later identified as Hennick, entered the store around midnight and requested to load $500 in cash onto a PayPal prepaid card. Throughout the interaction, Hennick kept the attendant distracted with continuous conversation while the employee processed the transaction on the store’s computer system, court documents detailed.
Hennick handed the clerk $520 in fraudulent bills to cover the $500 transfer and a $3.95 service fee. After the digital load was successfully completed, the clerk handed Hennick $16.05 in legitimate cash as change, resulting in a total monetary loss of $516.05 for the business.
Investigating officers noted that while the bills looked genuine from a distance, they were clearly printed with bold text reading “For Motion Picture Purposes” in multiple locations. The clerk turned over $610 in prop money provided by Hennick, which consisted of four $100 bills, three $50 bills and three $20 bills.
Approximately 30 minutes after the first transaction, Hennick returned to the store at 2:29 a.m. and attempted to load an additional $400 onto the card. That attempt was automatically rejected by the computer system because a monetary threshold had been reached.
Police identified Hennick after reviewing body-camera footage from an unrelated traffic stop conducted near the 7-Eleven at 3:24 a.m.. Officers observed that Hennick was wearing the exact same clothing captured in the convenience store’s surveillance video.
Officers subsequently located Hennick at her residence and placed her under arrest.
Hennick made an initial appearance Friday in Logan’s 1st District Court. She was charged with money laundering, a second-degree felony, possession of a forgery device, a third-degree felony, and misdemeanors for theft and unlawful use of technology to defraud another person.
Judge Spencer Walsh set a $5,000 bond for Hennick, under the condition that she have no contact with the alleged victim. He also ordered her to appear again in court Sept. 14.
Individuals arrested and charged in complaints are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.