Iowa City woman charged with falsely reporting stolen checks

An Iowa City woman was arrested after police say she falsely reported checks were stolen from her post office box.

According to police:

Valerie O. Davis, 44, of 2113 Miami Dr., cashed her student loan check for $1,304.61 on Sept. 10 at Money Station on Gilbert St. where she presented her ID card.

Davis then reported to US Bank that the check was stolen and forged. The bank re-issued the funds to Davis and she then cashed that check on Dec. 16 at Fast Cash on First Ave.

On Feb. 2 Davis went to the Iowa City Police Department to report her student loan check was stolen and cashed by an unknown offender. She claimed her PO box was opened, a check for $5,386 was stolen, her signature was forged, and the funds were stolen – all offenses that are felonies.

An officer went to Fast Cash and an employee provided a photocopy of the “stolen” check along with an image of Davis' ID card that had been presented with the check. The signatures on the ID and check matched.

The employee remembered the transaction because the amount was so high, and was able to identify Davis as the person who cashed the check.

Davis was arrested Wednesday and charged with second degree theft and false report to law enforcement authorities. She remains in the Johnson County Jail Thursday afternoon on a $7,000 cash-only bond.