A former employee of a Missoula credit union has been sentenced to six months in prison for embezzling $389,000 by swapping real money with fake currency. Edward Arthur Nurse, 35, admitted to the crime and was also sentenced to five years of supervised release. He is required to pay restitution amounting to $389,000.
Nurse pleaded guilty in October 2024 to charges of theft from a credit union. U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided over the case and imposed additional penalties including six months of home confinement and 600 hours of community service. Nurse will self-report to prison.
The government alleged that between July 2023 and June 2024, Nurse embezzled funds from Park Side Credit Union in Missoula. An employee discovered in June 2024 that $340,000 in cash had been replaced with fake currency from a company that supplies props for movies and entertainment productions. As "team lead" for the vault, Nurse used his position to swap real cash with fake money he purchased specifically for this purpose. He concealed his actions by placing real money at the front and back of bundles containing fake bills.
Following the discovery of the thefts, Nurse claimed during an FBI interview that he did not typically carry much cash and aside from a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, he had not made significant purchases or deposits recently. However, records indicated otherwise; Nurse made nine deposits exceeding $10,000 each into his personal account in 2024 alone.
Further investigation revealed that during the first half of 2024, Nurse purchased $410,000 worth of fake currency from a prop money company. In July 2024, approximately $50,000 in counterfeit money was returned after being received by the Federal Reserve.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with investigative efforts led by the FBI and support from the Missoula Police Department.