Iowa woman charged after depositing over $37k worth of stolen checks in Fillmore County
Dec. 7—PRESTON — A 42-year-old Iowa woman is facing 33 felony charges in Fillmore County District Court for allegedly stealing and depositing $37,138.50 worth of checks this year.
Mindy Jo Jones is charged with 13 counts of felony theft and 20 counts related to check forgery. She is expected to appear for her first hearing Jan. 9, 2023, in front of District Judge Terrence Walters.
No lawyer is listed for Jones on the Minnesota court website.
According to the criminal complaint:
Jones stole 11 checks from a man she was living with in Cresco, Iowa, and deposited the checks in three separate bank accounts controlled by her.
The man is employed by Reicksview Farms in Fillmore County to perform pressure washing services. He reported the stolen checks to the Fillmore County Sheriff's Office in June 2022.
Of the money stolen, $26,955.50 were deposited into an account for Tin Rust, a business owned by Jones in Harmony, Minnesota; $2,872 went into an account for Shirt off my Back, a business owned by Jones in Harmony; and $7,351 went into her personal bank account.
All of the checks were cashed at First Southeast Bank in Harmony. The checks were written out to the victim from Reicksview Farms. The man told law enforcement he did not sign any of the checks or give permission to Jones to deposit the funds into her accounts.
The man reported that it was possible that Jones stole the checks while she was living with him.
