CASPER, Wyo. — A Casper man sentenced to a term in prison on Wednesday for involvement in a scheme last spring to use movie prop cash to buy items on Facebook.
The victims traded cell phones, game systems, and other items for the fake cash, with some remarking that the bills “felt weird” before spotting phrases like “Movie Prop Use Only,” “Copy” and “not legal tender” subtly printed on the bills, according to affidavits filed by the Casper Police Department.
“What I did the community was selfish, untrustworthy and wrong,” defendant Gavin Pfrimmer, 25, told Judge Dan Forgey at sentencing on Wednesday.
Kirsten Schlottman, Primer’s defense attorney, argued for a suspended sentence, saying Pfrimmer had had few run-ins with the law between his 2020 conviction for aggravated burglary and this case.
The plea agreement capped sentencing at six years. Forgery ultimately imposed two and a half to four years in prison. He is also ordered to pay $2,280 in total restitution to the victims of the scheme.
Over half a dozen people, including car wash and gas station employees, reported encounters with the fake currency in April and May, according to the case reports. On two occasions a counterfeit pen was employed to reveal a black stipe on the bills. Marks on authentic currency would turn yellow.
At his change of plea in September, Pfrimmer said his role was to arrange meetings on Facebook Marketplace, and sometimes was the one who made contact with the victims.
The case began on April 19, when a woman called to report that she’d gotten fake cash from a man after arranging to sell her iPhone on Facebook. Pfrimmer had made arrangement and said his friend would be coming to buy the phone, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
The man who showed up at the location to make the transaction and hand off the fake bills was later identified from security footage as Jordan Lee Schmidt, who was first charged in May with possession of forged documents and misdemeanor theft before the conspiracy charges took shape.
In late April, Pfrimmer — then living in Mills — was pulled over and arrested on a failure-to-appear warrant, and Mills police told Casper police they found a large amount of fake cash in his vehicle, according to court records.
Schmidt and his girlfriend Amber Ferre were both charged in the conspiracy and have pleaded guilty. Schmidt was sentenced to two to four years on the case while also facing a revocation on an eight- to ten-year suspended sentence from a 2024 burglary case.
Pfrimmer and his girlfriend Alexa Lafferty were both charged in the fake cash conspiracy but remained at large for about a month before Casper police found them at the Motel 6 on July 9. Pfrimmer’s wallet was found on the street in west Casper by one man who had arranged to buy a Steam Deck and made the transaction with Pfrimmer.
The next day an officer responded to Game Doctors, where Ferre was reportedly trying to sell the Steam Deck. Ferre abandoned the sale and the Steam Deck was returned to the owner after the serial number was verified, according to the report.
“He is essentially getting something for nothing, employing trickery and subterfuge,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Blaine Nelson told Judge Forgey at Primer’s sentencing. He added that the circulation of fake money can hurt society in general by undermining trust in cash transactions.
Pfrimmer will get credit for 189 days served.
