ELKINS – A Barbour County woman faces multiple felony charges in Randolph County after allegedly cashing more than $1,000 in fraudulent checks.

Jessica Fay Michaletz, 36, of Belington, is charged with four counts of forgery and four counts of uttering, all felonies. She was being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $1,200 cash-only bond that has since been posted.

According to the criminal complaint filed by Senior Trooper A.P. Petrella with the West Virginia State Police, on March 3, Petrella was dispatched to a fraud complaint regarding forgery and uttering.

Petrella contacted the alleged victim and obtained an audio recorded statement, the complaint states. The alleged victim told Petrella that Michaletz and her boyfriend had been cleaning the alleged victim’s residence for over a year. When the alleged victim checked her bank account on the morning of March 3, she observed a check cashed in the amount of $325. After obtaining a copy of the check from her bank, the alleged victim reportedly stated that the check was made out to Michaletz. The alleged victim did not know how Michaletz had obtained the check.

The alleged victim told Petrella she contacted Michaletz and advised her to come to the bank to pay her back, the complaint states. Michaletz went to the bank to meet with the alleged victim and reportedly stated that she did not write the check, but that “it was her friend that was in the car with her.” Michaletz allegedly said she did not know that her friend was using the alleged victim’s checks.

The alleged victim stated that she had paid Michaletz via check on multiple occasions for cleaning her residence and that the bank employees at Freedom Bank on the Beverly Pike would be familiar with Michaletz cashing these checks, the complaint states. The alleged victim said that the bank employee who processed the $325 transaction reportedly advised that Michaletz had been alone in the car.

Michaletz was reportedly advised by the alleged victim that she had until 4 p.m. on March 3 to pay her the $325 back, the complaint states. Around 5 p.m. that day, the alleged victim received a text message from Michaletz stating that she deposited the money into a bank in Belington.

When the alleged victim told Michaletz she was going to contact the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, Michaletz allegedly advised her not to do that, the complaint states. The alleged victim told Petrella that she then observed another unauthorized transaction in the amount of $300.

On March 4 around 9 a.m., Petrella went to Freedom Bank and made contact with the alleged victim and the head teller, the complaint states. The head teller provided Petrella with a copy of the Affidavit of Fraud, as well as four fraudulent checks that totaled $1,075. The checks were dated Feb. 13, Feb. 16 and March 3. Two of the checks had memos, one of which stated that one check for $250 was for “Cleaning” and the $325 check was for “Wood Stove.”

According to the complaint, the head teller told Petrella in a recorded statement that the alleged victim came in on March 3, questioning the $325 check. The alleged victim came back at 2 p.m., stating that she was there to meet with Michaletz and waited 30 minutes before Michaletz arrived. The head teller saw Michaletz in her vehicle and informed the alleged victim that “whomever was in the car was not coming into the bank.” The alleged victim called Michaletz to ask if she was coming in, and then Michaletz entered the bank.

The head teller told Petrella that she, the alleged victim and Michaletz discussed how the multiple checks came about, the complaint states. Michaletz allegedly denied any culpability and blamed the situation on a woman named “Destiny.” When the alleged victim advised that someone was going to go to jail for this, Michaletz reportedly stated, “Ok. Ok. It was me.” The alleged victim said that Michaletz was “about to go to jail for forgery for someone else.”

The alleged victim then told Michaletz that she just wanted her money returned, to which Michaletz allegedly stated that she would leave, get the money and return, the complaint states. The head teller told Petrella that Michaletz never returned.

Petrella asked the head teller for confirmation that the four fraudulent checks totaled $1,050, to which she said yes, the complaint states. Petrella writes, however, that after reviewing the checks and the Affidavit of Fraud, the actual total amount was $1,075. When asked for confirmation that it was Michaletz who cashed these checks, the head teller allegedly said that it was Michaletz and that the checks were all cashed in the third lane of the bank’s drive thru.