Great Falls pair sentenced to prison for stealing neighbor’s checks

GREAT FALLS - A Great Falls man and woman who stole checks from their next-door neighbor and cashed them to themselves were sentenced to prison time today, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.

Andrew Dwayne Johnson, 49, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison for one count of wire fraud, and to two years for one count of aggravated identity theft with three years of supervised release.

Carrie Jeanine Johnson, 46, was sentenced to a year and three months in prison for one count of wire fraud, and to two years for one count of aggravated identity theft with three years of supervised release.

The two were also ordered to pay $17,636.40 in restitution. Their two prison sentences will run consecutively. The two pleaded guilty in January 2026 to the charges.

U.S. District Judge William W. Mercer presided.

The government alleged in court documents that siblings Andrew Johnson and Carrie Johnson stole checks from their neighbor, forged the neighbor's signature, and cashed the checks for themselves.

Law enforcement in Great Falls had launched an investigation into reports of false checks being used from a Wells Fargo account and were eventually able to link them to Carrie Johnson. When law enforcement asked the account owner if she knew Carrie Johnson, the woman responded that she did - Johnson was her next-door neighbor.

On Aug. 31, 2023, the neighbor had been taken by ambulance from her house after a medical emergency and had not returned. She told investigators she had left her checkbook on the couch. When officers went to her residence, the checkbook was gone and the house was unlocked. Carrie Johnson later admitted to taking and using the neighbor's checks without her permission. Similarly, Andrew Johnson cashed one of the neighbor's checks to himself for $1,400. A search warrant served on Andrew Johnson's room turned up evidence of the stolen checks.

The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case. The FBI conducted the investigation.