Maine resident charged with trying to use counterfeit money to buy gift cards

LACONIA — Police charged one person from Maine after attempting to purchase gift cards at Walmart with counterfeit money for a second time last week. 

Shawn White, 40, of Westbrook, Maine, is charged with two counts of felony forgery, and three counts of being in possession of false identification.

Laconia police were called to Walmart in Gilford just after 5 p.m. on July 26, after loss prevention employees there reported a man had passed counterfeit currency to a cashier. Upon their arrival, police learned White allegedly attempted to purchase a $500 gift card, Chief Matt Canfield said Wednesday afternoon. 

Loss prevention employees at the store recognized White from the day before, when they believe he successfully used counterfeit currency to purchase another $500 gift card. Using counterfeit currency to purchase redeemable gift cards essentially washes the phony money, making it clean.

White was held in the Belknap County Jail and arraigned on Monday, in Laconia District Court. The case could be elevated to the Belknap County Superior Court, or there could be a probable cause hearing held in district court at a later date. 

“Every once in a while, we do take counterfeit currency investigations,” Canfield said when asked if this is a common scam in the city. 

Canfield said the loss prevention employees were astute and able to recognize what was happening in their store. When such scams are successful, the store realizes a significant monetary loss — gift cards represent actual cash. 

After loss prevention staff observed his first scam the day before, a photo of White was distributed to law enforcement officers. 

“He got caught in the process,” Canfield said.

Laconia police are interested in speaking with other victims — individuals or organizations — who may have been affected by the same scam. Anyone with information can provide it anonymously through tip411, by calling the Laconia crime line at 603-524-1717 or by calling the police station’s general phone number at 603-524-5252.