PORTLAND, Maine — A Maryland woman who formerly lived in Westbrook was sentenced in federal court in Portland to 24 months in prison for helping deposit a counterfeit U.S. Treasury check at her credit union, according to the U.S. attorney's office for the District of Maine.

U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. also ordered Palwasha Shir, 36, to pay $290,947 in restitution and sentenced her to three years of supervised release after her prison term. Shir pleaded guilty June 23.

According to court records cited by prosecutors, Shir was the sole owner of The Selfie Room LLC, a business she registered in Maine, and opened a checking account for it at a Maine credit union.

In July 2024, Shir caused a counterfeit Treasury check for $291,203, made out to The Selfie Room, to be deposited into the account, prosecutors said. In August 2024, a second counterfeit Treasury check, for $193,107, was deposited the same way.

The serial numbers and amounts on the checks matched those of real tax refund checks the IRS had issued to other businesses unconnected to Shir, prosecutors said. The counterfeits had the payee and address changed so the checks were made out to The Selfie Room.

When a credit union employee called Shir about the checks, she falsely claimed she had received them from the IRS, prosecutors said.

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