EC man gets probation for using checks he stole from two people
Feb. 25—EAU CLAIRE — An Eau Claire man will spend five years on probation for using checks he stole from two people.
The people didn't realize the checks were stolen until transactions were made, police said.
Jesse J. Fairley, 33, pleaded guilty recently in Eau Claire County Court to six felony counts of uttering a forgery and unrelated charges of retail theft, obstructing an officer, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of methamphetamine and delivery of counterfeit methamphetamine.
Judge John Manydeeds fined Fairley $4,121 and ordered him to pay $2,396 in restitution.
As conditions of probation, Fairley cannot enter taverns or have contact with the victims or known drug dealers of users. He must also maintain absolute sobriety and complete treatment court.
According to the criminal complaint:
A woman contacted police on Oct. 15, 2021, to report a check fraud. She said she was cleaning out her house on Badger Avenue and threw several items in the dumpster. She noticed someone rummaging through the dumpster but didn't think much of it.
The woman later discovered there were three unauthorized transactions involving her checking account. All three checks, totaling $550, were cashed.
The woman said the checks were old and she didn't even realize she had thrown them out. She had already called her bank and had her account frozen.
The woman was alerted by Royal Credit Union on April 6 that additional checks from her account had been cashed at RCU locations and subsequently returned due to the account being closed.
Police reviewed surveillance video from when the transactions were made and identified Fairley as the suspect.
A man told police that on July 26, a male presented a check from the man's checking account at an Eau Claire Kwik Trip. The man said he is a manager at a different Kwik Trip and was able to review surveillance video of this transaction.
The man said he didn't know how this male obtained his check, but suspected he may have accidentally thrown out some checks.
A police officer reviewed the video of the transaction and identified Fairley as the suspect.
At the time of this incident, Fairley was free on bond for five pending criminal cases in Eau Claire County.
