Cedar Rapids man arrested in $3,200 check scheme in Linn County

A 24-year-old Cedar Rapids man faces a theft charge after police say he knowingly bounced several checks totaling more than $3,200.

According to the criminal complaint, Justin Robert Thede wrote five checks to Ginsberg Jewelry between Jan. 8 and Jan. 12, all of which bounced due to insufficient funds.

Police said Thede would open checking accounts with minimal money and then write checks from the accounts knowing he lacked the funds to cover the amounts being spent. Thede also allegedly wrote checks from closed accounts.

The complaint states Thede was seen on surveillance videos 'cashing several checks that had insufficient funds at several of the Veridian Banks throughout Linn County.”

The checks totaled $3,246, police said, but the criminal complaint states Veridian Bank lost more than $5,000 as a result of the scheme.

Thede is charged with second-degree theft, a Class D felony.

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