An alleged organized interstate counterfeiting operation has been uncovered in the Verde Valley, with investigations spanning Sedona and Cottonwood and leading to charges against three individuals. What began as an eviction call at a Brewer Road short-term rental in Sedona on September 3, eventually led police to discover an extensive scheme involving fake currency and fraudulent documents. The Sedona investigation ultimately linked to an earlier traffic stop in Cottonwood on August 31, where two men had been arrested.
Sedona Police Department Officer Stephen Miolla was dispatched on September 3 at 12:33 p.m. to the 900 block of Brewer Road, responding to a property manager's report of a short-term rental guest who had overstayed their reservation since 10 a.m. the previous morning. The renter initially presented an Italian passport identifying herself as “Serafina Abramovich,” but officers later confirmed her identity as Valeria Bednarchik, 32, after she allegedly provided three variations of her name. Bednarchik claimed she had nowhere to go and no money, stating her husband was in a Prescott hospital but she was unsure which one. She explained her financial situation by saying her husband, identified as “Angelo Silverio Brioni,” usually handled their money.
Bednarchik was told to find a way to pay for the rental or to vacate the property by 4 p.m. Sedona Police were called at 4:50 p.m. and informed Bednarchik had not left; the property manager observed her in the hot tub with her 6-year-old son, with no indication they were leaving. After officers obtained permission from the rental manager to enter the residence, Officers Andrew Marshall and Troy Zellner found a counterfeit $100 bill and an uncut sheet containing three more counterfeit $100 bills inside. Officer Miolla, who also observed the suspected counterfeit bills, questioned Bednarchik. She claimed her son wanted money to play with, so her husband, Brioni, printed some for the child, describing it as a toy and a game. When asked about using counterfeit money in the United States, she denied it. Miolla informed her that individuals using similar counterfeit money had recently been arrested.
Miolla questioned Bednarchik about her husband’s whereabouts, noting she had not confirmed his presence at any facility and warning her that he was likely in custody. She eventually confessed that her husband had left her and her child approximately two days ago after a verbal dispute and admitted to fabricating the hospital story. At 5:25 p.m., Bednarchik was read her Miranda rights, and at 5:30 p.m., she was arrested. Her charges included possession of counterfeit marks, possession of a forgery device—after a printer with linen paper and a laminating machine were found—forgery, providing a false name, and possession of a dangerous drug after methamphetamine was reportedly found.
SPD K-9 Officer Catherine Beers stated the seized counterfeit $100 bills were consistent with two other Sedona incidents. Beers described the findings as "consistent with an organized operation," noting the significant quantity and variety of items located for producing counterfeit currency, fraudulent identification documents, and other fabrication. Officers found a printer, laminating machine, ivory and white linen paper, at least five counterfeit $100 bills, one counterfeit $20 bill, and more suspected currency. Additional items included a paper cutter, inks, enamel sprays, drying fans, and materials to replicate the blue security strip on U.S. currency. Driver’s licenses and ID cards from multiple states, passports, two forged Texas license plates, and vehicle title documents were also recovered. Officer Marshall reported finding a burnt piece of counterfeit money, consistent in color and consistency with other bills, in the fireplace, alongside other unrecoverable burnt paper-like items.
Sedona Police confirmed Bednarchik's identity after date-of-birth information linked to a missing-person-related entry concerning her child. SPD contacted the biological father of Bednarchik's son in California, who identified “Brioni” as Morgan Gargiulo, booked into Yavapai County Jail on August 31. Bednarchik was allegedly in violation of a custody agreement, having taken her son outside of California against a court order. A Superior Court of California order was served, requiring her son to be placed with his biological father, and the Arizona Department of Child Safety took custody of the child at 9:20 p.m. Her small brown dog, Todo, was taken to the Humane Society of Sedona.
The initial arrests on August 31 occurred after Cottonwood Police Department officers stopped Carlos Cazelly, 74, and Morgan Gargiulo, 37, near the intersection of State Route 260 and East Fir Street. Sedona police reports indicated investigators later connected both men to multiple false identities. Cazelly allegedly used forged California driver’s licenses under the names “Claudio Cavalli” and “Jose Reyes,” while Gargiulo used the alias “Angelo Silverio Brioni.” Their identification as persons of interest in Verde Valley forgery investigations led to the broader discovery on September 3.
Morgan Gargiulo faces 13 counts in Yavapai County, which include seven counts of possessing a forged instrument, along with single counts of fraudulent schemes and artifices, theft of a means of transportation, altering a vehicle identification number, and identity theft. He is also charged with felony second-degree escape and resisting arrest, following an alleged attempt to flee on foot at the detention facility. Carlos Cazelly faces 14 felony charges in Yavapai County for operating a fraud scheme, possessing and attempting to use fake cash and forged IDs, and driving a stolen vehicle. His charges include nine counts of forgery, two counts of running an organized fraud scheme, identity theft, theft by misrepresentation, and car theft. Valeria Bednarchik faces six charges: illegal drug possession, multiple counts of possessing forgery equipment and adapted counterfeiting devices, a counterfeit trademark violation, and obstructing justice by refusing to provide a truthful name. The Sedona Police Department announced the case is being transferred to the U.S. Secret Service, an agency founded in 1865 specifically to investigate counterfeiting.