Sean Scheans had already cashed four phony checks and was on his fifth in Chehalis Monday when police arrived to stop him, according to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.
Scheans, 59, allegedly cashed the checks totaling over $13,500 at different Gesa Credit Union locations in the Lewis County area.
He made a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Tuesday following his arrest on April 6.
Judge J. Andrew Toynbee released Scheans on a $10,000 unsecured bond under the condition that he sign an extradition waiver before leaving the jail, as Scheans resides in Oregon.
The defendant must also be physically present at all of his court dates, Toynbee said.
Scheans faces one count of first-degree theft, a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and five counts of forgery, each punishable by up to five years.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Chehalis police responded to the Gesa Credit Union on Northwest Louisiana Avenue after bank staff reported a suspect in a “neon yellow safety shirt” trying to cash fraudulent checks.
Bank staff confirmed the checks — which included four previously cashed at other Gesa branches — had not been authorized by the account holders.
The account holders said they did not know Scheans.
Upon arrival, officers spoke with Scheans, who allegedly said the checks were “payroll payments from a contractor,” according to the affidavit.
He said he did not know the contractor well.
Officers reportedly confirmed the checks looked “altered or copied, with signatures nearly identical across the documents,” according to the affidavit.
Scheans allegedly said the contractor “told him to cash the checks,” but said he didn’t know they were fraudulent.
He said the contractor “had instructed him to do only about $3,000 per location, explaining the multiple stops,” according to the affidavit.
Scheans is scheduled for an arraignment on April 16.
