By Denise Lana,
Mindy Jones is currently sitting in a Shakopee, Minn., prison after being found guilty in early April of theft by swindle. As she is behind bars, Jones faces more charges for check forgery, theft by swindle and theft by check. Jones is accused of committing 33 counts of theft and forgery in 2021 after investing.ations showed she cashed more than $37,000 worth of checks from a friend’s father’s mailbox, and deposited that money into her business and personal accounts in Minnesota.
According to prosecuting attorney Fillmore County Attorney Brett Corson, under Minnesota law offenses can only be gathered in six-month increments. Corson explained that Jones’ offenses spanned seven months, so the original charges have been split into two files; one comprising six months of charges, and the second file focusing on a lone check forgery and theft instance that occurred outside that six-month window. From Jan. 26 to July 14, 2021, Jones allegedly stole checks totaling $33,477.50 and deposited them into her business account located in Harmony, Minn. According to a check dated Aug. 17, 2021, Jones allegedly stole and deposited into her business account a single check for $3,701.
Minnesota law states that any theft is a felony if the value is more than $1,000, and all 11 checks Jones allegedly stole were for over that threshold. In Minnesota, sentences are not served consecutively, but are served concurrently. That means that if Jones is charged with the thefts of all the checks, the sentence for each check will be stacked and Jones will be convicted and sentenced only on the largest charge. She will then serve two-thirds of any sentence in prison and may be allowed to serve the remaining one-third in supervised release.
A default omnibus hearing is scheduled via video conference May 20 at 10:30 a.m., with Jones’ jury trial in this case to start Aug. 5 at 9 a.m. at the Fillmore County Courthouse in Preston, Minn.
Jones’ date for the jury trial for Arson charges et al in Allamakee County court will be set Monday, May 6.
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