Phony check probe ongoing

August 8, 2006

By MARY AMES/Frontiersman

MAT-SU - One arrest has been made involving a flood of phony checks that began showing up at Valley businesses in May, but other players remain at large.

Angie Minnick, 28, was arraigned in Palmer District Court Thursday on charges of second-degree forgery, scheming to defraud five or more victims, and two counts of fourth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance.

Minnick was charged in a separate case with two counts of second-degree theft and one count of third-degree theft on July 13.

Multiple police agencies worked on the case, which involved checks that would clear stores' security check scanners, but would later be declined at a bank, according to Kelly Turney, a detective with the Palmer police.

The checks started showing up in Fairbanks early this year, and in February, airport police there arrested Contessa Estes, 30, with the &#8220tools of the trade,” Turney said. Those tools included a laptop computer and methamphetamines, he said. Court records show one count of fourth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance filed against Estes on Feb. 4 in Fairbanks. Estes made bail on Feb. 21, and the courts issued a $25,000 warrant for her arrest on July 20.

Turney said the faux checks were made using a computer, a printer and stolen checks. The people who made the checks kept the real routing numbers, but the account numbers were fake. The result was store clerks would cash the checks, but a week to 10 days later, a bank would inform the merchants the checks were no good.

In March, the bad checks began showing up in Anchorage. In May, the checks began bouncing around the Valley, but stopped with Minnick's arrest in July, Turney said. Now, checks made in the same manner are turning up around the Soldotna area, he said.

Turney stepped into the investigation earlier this summer and has had cooperation with the Fairbanks Airport Police, Soldotna, Wasilla and Anchorage police departments, Alaska State Troopers and the Mat-Su Narcotics Unit, he said.

&#8220We used the heck out of ALEISS again,” Turney said of the software that allows police agencies from around the state to easily share information. &#8220I love that program.”

Turney scanned through arrest photos, showing guns, drugs, stolen cars and well-organized files of stolen mail and false identifications.

Meth is the foundation behind it all, Turney said. A loose-knit group of people are making the checks, and the women, for the most part, are the ones who are cashing the checks, he said.

&#8220These people are living on these checks,” he said. &#8220They come in and buy cigarettes and snack food. A few hours later, they are back again for more cigarettes and snack food.”

With Minnick in custody, the police agencies turned their attention to Estes, who they believe to be in the Soldotna area.

&#8220We missed her by 90 minutes last time,” Turney said.

Anyone with information about Estes, who also goes by the name Wendy Remington, can call Mat-Su Crime Stoppers at 745-3333 or contact Turney at 745-4811.

Contact Mary Ames at

352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.