Woman charged with passing bad checks

Published 9:32 am Tuesday, December 6, 2016

An Albert Lea woman is facing felony charges after allegedly passing fraudulent checks.

Wendy Jean Woodson, 54, is charged in Freeborn County District Court in one file with offering a forged check and issuing a dishonored check. In a second file, Woodson is charged with offering a forged check.

Woodson appeared on the charges Monday after she turned herself in on a warrant.

Wendy Woodson

Wendy Woodson

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Freeborn County Attorney David Walker argued that conditional bail be set at $2,500 on each file.

Attorney Jeremy Clinefelter of Austin — who appeared in court on Woodson’s behalf — said Woodson was confused on the date she was supposed to appear.

Freeborn County District Court Judge Ross Leuning released Woodson on her own recognizance, but said conditional bail could be implemented if similar incidents happen again.

Court documents state Woodson was charged in the first file after she reportedly cashed a $389.90 check made out to herself Aug. 8 at an Albert Lea business. The check was reportedly returned by a bank for being altered/fictitious.

An Albert Lea detective learned from the bank that the account number Woodson used was non-existent, and the payee was not from the town Woodson claimed it was from.

Woodson was charged in the second file after the alleged victim told the detective on Oct.7 that a check was paid from her account that she did not write.

The payee on the check was reportedly not hers, and the check was made out to Woodson for $345.67, court documents state. The alleged victim said she did not know Woodson and had not written her a check.

The check was reportedly fraudulent.

Her next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 15.

Woodson is charged with one count of gross misdemeanor issuing a dishonored check in two separate files. Settlement conferences are scheduled for Jan. 5, and a jury trial is scheduled for April, if the case has not been settled by then.

Offering a forged check carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

About Sam Wilmes

Sam Wilmes covers crime, courts and government for the Albert Lea Tribune.

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