Crime & Safety

Savage Man Charged with Defrauding Burnsville Credit Union

Karl Jones faces a felony count of offering a forged check.

A Savage man has been accused of forging a signature on a check and depositing it in a Burnsville credit union earlier this summer.

Karl Jones, 37, is charged with a felony count of offering a forged check, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, Burnsville police were contacted July 22 by a police investigator, who said an Ohio woman had reported that someone had cashed a check on her account at U.S. Federal Credit Union in Burnsville on June 7.

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The check, in the amount of $1,960, was cashed by Jones, who had an account at the Burnsville credit union, according to the complaint.

The credit union provided surveillance video of Jones depositing the check into his account, which at the time had a balance of $5.68, the complaint says. On June 8, Jones withdrew $1,500 from the account.

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Police interviewed Jones, who said he believed he was doing “tour guide work” for a company in Spain. Jones told investigators that he was to provide tours for people who visited Minnesota.

He admitted that he hadn’t done any work for the company, but he believed that the check was payment for services that he would provide in the future, according to the complaint.

Credit union records showed that Jones deposited another fraudulent check in his account on June 7.

Jones told investigators that he had received a letter from the bank, telling him that neither of the checks was good, but that he hadn’t gotten around to visiting the bank to clear up the matter, according to the complaint.

A subsequent search of Jones’ house turned up documents showing money transfers in the names of other people, the complaint says.

Jones was released last week on a $25,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled for Aug. 29 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.


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