Chairman Louis Taylor thanks the Sawyer County Sheriff on the left, Deputy Darin Jensen, LCO Officer Jon Klecan and Chief Deputy Craig Faulstich for their handling of the check fraud case.

LCO Chairman Louis Taylor thanked law enforcement officials throughout Sawyer County for their quick action in apprehending suspects involved in a large check forgery printing operation that saw several LCO Tribal Government disbursement checks cashed in local establishments, including the LCO Casino.

Sawyer County Sheriff Doug Mrotek and several officers from the sheriff’s office, LCO Police and Hayward Police were recognized by the tribal governing board and presented with a gift basket.

“I want to thank you all for what you did this last week in regards to the check fraud,” Taylor said. The LCO Tribal checks that were cashed were printed fake duplicates that also had his signature forged on them.

Taylor said they knew about a few of these checks being cashed but the investigation wasn’t going anywhere. LCO Police officer Jon Klecan then got involved and called Sheriff Mrotek.

“We met with you at 9 am that morning and by 4 pm you called to tell us you had people in custody,” Taylor said. “We really want to recognize you and all of these officers for their quick action.”

Mrotek said they were discovering more places where checks had been cashed, including in Hayward. He also said he couldn’t comment any further because some checks had been cashed across state lines and the FBI was investigating the case.

Sheriff Mrotek said this is a great example of the partnership between the tribe and the sheriff’s office. “Jon Klecan really got the ball rolling and he joined with our deputy, Darin Jensen, and they got our investigators involved.”

The officers recognized at the tribal office Monday morning included the sheriff, Klecan, Jensen, Investigator Brian Deyo, Deputy Jay Poplin, Hayward police officer Charlie Logan, Chief Deputy Craig Faulstich and Hayward Assistant Chief J.T. Wohling.

Three persons were apprehended from a residence on Haskins Road on the reservation. They included Justin Gordon, Louis Gordon and Kathy Isham. A total of 28 names were released in a previously published press release on DrydenWire.com (see below) issued by the Sawyer County Sheriff’s Office. The scale of their involvement hasn’t been released yet.

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Numerous Fraudulent Checks/Forgery Cases Reported in Sawyer County

Friday, October 20, 2017 | Wisconsin Crime Alert Network l News Release

The Sawyer County Sheriff’s Office and the Lac Court Oreilles Police Department are investigating numerous fraudulent checks/forgery cases that have been reported since 10/16/17 in Sawyer County. The checks have been printed with the following account names: Lac Court Oreilles Government General Disbursement Check; JLG Investments Inc; Goodwin Consulting, LLC; Native American Financial Services, LLC; 43 Apple Hill, LLC; and Bugo Ganay Giizhig Inc.

A network of suspects involved in these cases has been identified including: Justin L. Gordon, Louis Gordon, Kathryn Isham, Vanessa Hamilton, Denise Hamilton, Mary Jo Isham, James Fairbanks, Steven Cole Keefer, Woody Bird, Daren Moore, Johnny Ray Smith Jr, Kelly Martin, Selena Isham, Cassandra Reed, Heather Grover, Corby Gordon, Belinda Dennis, Travis Burch, Robert Corbine, Mary Ellen Corbine, Kyle Ray Cloud, Casey McKnight, Chalice Wade, Danelle Sharlow, Danette Sharlow, Tonya L. Victor, Patrick White and Anthony Stephenson.

To date these checks have been cashed or attempted to be cashed in Sawyer County, but is possible that they will appear in other areas of Wisconsin or Minnesota. If anyone had or has contact with or information about any of these checks or suspects please contact Deputy Darin Jensen, 715-634-4858 or djensen@sawyersheriff.org.