Prop Money Inc. proudly claims its fake money can pass for real on camera, which is why it’s used in movies and television productions.
“Realistic fake money is everywhere,” the company says on its website. “Its uses go far beyond Hollywood.”
A little too far, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Montana, which recently prosecuted a credit union employee in Missoula for stealing money from a bank vault and replacing it with fake currency from Prop Money Inc.
“On June 21, 2024, an employee of Park Side Credit Union in Missoula, discovered $340,000 in cash in its vault had been replaced with fake currency from propmoney.com,” according to court documents.
It’s one thing to try and pass off counterfeit or fake bills around town at local businesses, but quite another to swap it for real dough in a bank vault, said Louis Hernandez, chief operating officer for Prop Money Inc.
“Pardon me, but that takes some balls, man. That's something else,” he said.
Hernandez told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday that he’s heard of people mixing in a few prop $100 bills into stacks of real money and getting caught when trying to settle debts with the fake stuff. But the case in Missoula took the mixing real money with prop bills trick to a new level.
“Prop money is legal until you try to use it as a real currency. Then that prop money becomes counterfeit,” said Hernandez. “And once it becomes counterfeit, it's a federal offense.”
"It's for creative uses. It's to trick a lens," added Hernandez, emphasizing that up close, his company's currency doesn't really look or feel like the real thing.
Edward Arthur Nurse, 35, of Missoula, learned this lesson Tuesday when he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 600 hours of community service, six months of home confinement and five years of supervised release.
Nurse must also repay his former employer $389,000 in restitution for the real cash he stole.
Court documents also state that, “Mr. Nurse will not occupy a position of trust over funds or finances and will not have any opportunity to commit any similar offenses.”
For Entertainment Purposes
Hernandez said Nurse is an outlier among the company’s customers.
Based in Santa Fe Springs, California, Prop Money Inc. is one of a few fake money suppliers that mostly support the entertainment industry.
Need a briefcase filled with $500,000 in fake bills? Just log onto propmoney.com and be prepared to spend between $600 and $800 for a realistic-looking briefcase full of cash.
Prop Money Inc. also offers wrapped bundles, duffle bags full of money and its trademarked “RealAged” bills that have the look of “wear and tear from pocket carrying,” according to its website.
“In a day, we'll ship anywhere between 100 and 150 orders out,” said Hernandez, whose company has supplied hit TV series like “Euphoria” and “Tulsa King,s” along with music videos and commercial shoots.
As for the case in Missoula, “It's not common at all,” he said. “I've been with the company for seven years and we've had to go an extra step to deal with authorities, but it’s not common.”
Mix Of Real And Fake
Nurse worked as a “team lead” at Park Side Credit Union.
Prosecutors alleged Nurse went into the vault to swap the credit union’s cash with fake money he boughtspecifically to conceal his theft.
“Nurse hid his conduct from security cameras, auditors and his colleagues by putting real money at the front and back of bundles of fake money,” according to a Wednesday statement from the Montana U.S. Attorney’s Office. “Nurse made multiple purchases of fake money and stole the real cash from his work at different times over a seven-month period.”
After the credit union discovered the thefts, the Missoula office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation stepped in.
“Nurse claimed to an FBI special agent that he did not usually carry much cash and, aside from a vacation to Las Vegas, Nevada, he had not made any recent large purchases or cash deposits,” according to the statement.
However, records show Nurse made at least nine cash deposits of more than $10,000 each in 2024 into his personal account.
Meanwhile, the prop money Nurse used to conceal his theft made its way into the banking system.
“The credit union was later informed that approximately $50,000 in fake money had been received by the Federal Reserve in July 2024. Those funds were returned and determined to be fake bills from the prop money company,” according to the release.
$100 bills from Prop Money Inc. clearly show the words “Motion Picture Purposes,” but that didn’t stop a Missoula, Montana, man from mixing them in with real cash in the vault at a credit union where he worked. (Prop Money Inc.) 
Edward “Ean” Nurse worked at the Great Northern branch of Park Side Credit Union in Missoula, Montana. On Feb. 25, Nurse was ordered to pay $389,000 in restitution for the cash he stole by removing it from the bank’s vault. He then replaced the real cash with fake prop money, according to court documents. (Google)
Gambling Debts To Blame
Grey Wolf Peak Casino just north of Missoula advertises its “Fortune Wheel Fridays” as a promotion where players are invited to “Spin Your Way to Riches.”
Court documents don’t indicate whether or tried his hand at the casino’s “Fortune Wheel,” but prosecutors presented evidence that Nurse was on a losing streak there.
“Financial information from the Grey Wolf Peak Casino reflected that from March 2024 to May 2024, Nurse put more than $56,000 in cash into the establishment and cashed out slightly more than $8,000,” according to court documents.
“Gambling is this compulsion, just like drugs,” Nurse’s attorney, Shandor Badaruddin, told Cowboy State Daily. “There’s a number of embezzlement cases that I've handled and other people have handled that involved ultimately the defendant trying to satisfy some gambling debts or gambling need. You don't necessarily have debts, you need money to go out and gamble.”
In his sentencing memorandum, it’s noted that Nurse has no criminal history and that, “gambling addiction and poor financial management explains why he deviated from his character and engaged in the acts giving rise to the offense of conviction.”
Court documents detail how Nurse, who goes by Ean, was contrite when confronted by authorities and cooperated with the investigation.
His actions “were not born of greed but of desperation fueled by a gambling addiction,” the sentencing report says. “This was truly a nightmare that Ean was living. … Since his secret has come to light, we can start to see the weight being lifted from Ean’s shoulders.”
For Nurse, that weight amounts to about 8.58 pounds, which is how much $389,000 in real $100 bills weighs.
