Crime & Safety

Puyallup Man Pleads Not Guilty In Federal Counterfeiting Case

Artem Kirichenko was arrested in 2018 in Moses Lake for trying to make purchases with counterfeit cash, according to authorities.

The counterfeit bills Kirichenko was trying to use, according to Moses Lake police.
The counterfeit bills Kirichenko was trying to use, according to Moses Lake police. (Courtesy Moses Lake police)

SPOKANE, WA - A Puyallup man has pleaded not guilty to federal counterfeiting charges. Artem Kirichenko, 33, was arrested last year in Moses Lake after police say he tried to use fake cash to go shopping.

Kirichenko is facing multiple federal charges, including six counts of using counterfeit money, drug distribution charges, and a charge of possession a gun as a felon.

When Kirichenko was arrested last April, police found about $2,000 in fake money, plus heroin, methamphetamine, and a gun, during a search of his car. Moses Lake police said that he had crossed state lines while using the fake cash.

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A woman he was with, Emily A. Coates, 31, of Puyallup, was also arrested. Kirichenko will go to trial in May at federal court in Spokane.

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