Samuel Haley Rose, formerly Harry Paul Mottsman, was given a five-year suspended sentence Thursday in Flathead District Court after pleading guilty to felony theft.

The 56-year-old Libby man also was ordered to pay more than $7,100 in restitution, a $1,000 fine, $160 in court fees and an $800 public defender fee and was told to address outstanding warrants from New Hampshire, Vermont and Pennsylvania.

Rose, who originally was charged with forgery, cashed more than $7,000 in two counterfeit checks drawn on the Comerica Bank account of “Morgan, Richard & Marks LLC” and deposited the money in a Glacier Bank account under the name “Samuel A. Rose.”

No Social Security number had ever been issued for the name, which was an alias for Rose.

After initially fleeing the area, Rose was picked up by employees of Moonlighting Detective Agency after responding to a fake date set up through online dating site Match.com.

He was apprehended at the Cheesecake Factory in Boise, Idaho.

At the time he was captured, he had a Pennsylvania driver’s license and several bank cards, all under the name of Bart Woods.

“He would have been gone if we didn’t find him, I’m pretty sure,” Moonlighting owner Charles Pesola said at the time. “He already had bank accounts, rental agreements, all kinds of things made up with that name.”

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.