Police: EC man used checks he stole from two people

Dan Holtz, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.
·2 min read

Oct. 13—EAU CLAIRE — An Eau Claire man used checks he stole from two people, police say.

The people didn't realize the checks were stolen until transactions were made, police said.

Jesse J. Fairley, 33, 1820 S. Hastings Way, was charged this week in Eau Claire County Court with three felony counts of uttering a forgery, a felony count of fraud against a financial institution, and five counts of bail jumping.

Fairley is scheduled to make his initial court appearance today.

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.

If convicted of the felony charges, Fairley could be sentenced to up to 22 years in prison.