People v. Minor CA3

BACKGROUND

The evidence at trial showed that on November 12, 2011, defendant entered a Mechanics Bank branch in El Dorado Hills and cashed a check made payable to him in the amount of $979.11. The check appeared to be drawn on the business account of Strategies to Empower People (STEP) and bore the facsimile signature of Claudia Loveless, STEP’s Chief Financial Officer. Defendant endorsed the check by signing his own name; he provided the teller a California identification card, his correct address, and his thumbprint. He did not attempt to conceal his identity. A week later, STEP notified the bank that the check was not authorized. The bank’s investigator notified the police. Defendant was arrested after unsuccessfully attempting to cash a fraudulent check at PremierWest Bank in Rocklin, purportedly made payable to him in the amount of $1,251.39 by Pacific Contracting.

2 The Mechanics Bank investigator discovered two other checks defendant cashed on STEP’s account. The first, for $1,251.09, was also cashed on November 12, 2011, less than two hours after the first check, at the Elk Grove branch of Mechanics Bank. The second, for $1,421.07, was cashed November 14, 2011, at the…