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Underwood woman buys two vehicles on bad checks
Published 4:46pm Tuesday, March 1, 2011An Underwood woman has been convicted for issuing dishonored checks after she bought two vehicles from different Fergus Falls car dealerships in two weeks – using checks from an account that only ever had $200 in it at the most.
In two separate court proceedings, Sherrie Ann Obright, 40, was convicted of two counts of issuing dishonored checks. For each of the two offenses, she had a prison sentence of 17 months stayed for five years and is required to spend 90 days in the Otter Tail County Jail. The jail terms will be served concurrently.
Obright was also fined $2,000, with $1,450 of that stayed for five years. Some of that can be paid off by community service. In addition to her fines, Obright is required to pay over $6,000 in restitution.
According to the criminal complaints, Obright bought a 2001 Pontiac Bonneville from Stock’s Auto Sales on Dec. 11, 2009, and a 1998 Ford F-150 from Minnesota Motor on Dec. 24. She paid for both vehicles using checks from a newly-opened account at Wadena State Bank.
When the car dealers attempted to deposit the checks, however, they both were told that Obright’s account lacked sufficient funds. Both dealers told law enforcement that they contacted Obright about payment several times, but her promises to make good on the checks were never fulfilled. Obright eventually returned the F-150, but she had put over 3,600 miles on it in 26 days, decreasing its sale value. She did not reimburse Minnesota Motor for the loss of value.
A Fergus Falls police officer investigating one of the incidents pulled Obright’s bank record and found that only two deposits, each for $100, had been made into her Wadena State Bank account. He also found multiple other insufficient funds checks written by Obright.
Obright was previously convicted on two counts of check forgery in 2009.
Tags: checking crime, Courts
