BRADLEY J. NICHOLS (d.o.b. 2-17-1979), of Branson, pleaded guilty on Thursday, July 10, 2014, to one count of the class C felony Forgery, for passing counterfeit cash to several local businesses in Branson in 2013. Visiting Senior Judge Carr Woods sentenced Nichols to five (5) years in the Missouri Department of Corrections for the offense, pursuant to a plea agreement.

Branson Police were called to the Rowland Motel, on Main Street, in July of 2013, by motel managers who had received counterfeit five dollar bills from a tenant. The investigation led to a tenant of Rowland Motel who told Officer Mitchell Null about Nichols using a computer and printer to create fake five dollar bills in another room of the motel. Once contacted by Officer Null, Nichols confessed to creating counterfeit bills, and gave the evidence over to police.

“This is a great example of how area motels should cooperate with Branson Police,” said Taney County Prosecutor Jeff Merrell. “Thanks to the willingness of the Rowland Motel employees to call the police, the spread of fake money throughout our community was stopped.”

“This is, yet another, great investigation by the Branson Police Department that limited the damage caused by a criminal enterprise.”

Forgery is a class C felony, in Missouri, carrying a maximum prison sentence of seven (7) years and a $5,000.00 fine.