CLEARFIELD – Two people accused of forging checks waived all charges to the Court of Common Pleas before Magisterial District Judge James Hawkins during Centralized Court on Wednesday at the Clearfield County Jail.
Brandon Scott Sass, 23, of Hyde has been charged with conspiracy/receiving stolen property; conspiracy/other reason access device unauthorized by issuer; other reason access device unauthorized by issuer; possession of access device knowing counterfeit, altered; and false report.
Jo Ann Shugarts, 57, of Clearfield has been charged with conspiracy/receiving stolen property; conspiracy/other reason access device unauthorized by issuer; and conspiracy/possession of access device knowing counterfeit, altered.
According to the affidavit of probable cause for the Sass case, the victim reviewed his checking statements and noticed discrepancies. He went to his financial institution and found several different people had cashed checks that totaled nearly $10,000.
On July 16, 2012, surveillance video depicted a female operating a tan Chevrolet Blazer. She had a male as her front seat passenger, and it appeared to be Sass.
The female’s name allegedly appeared on the check that was made out for $500. Her Pennsylvania driver’s license number and date of birth appeared on the reverse side of the check.
On July 18, 2012, Sass was depicted operating a tan Chevrolet Blazer. He allegedly cashed a check for $650. Sass’ Pennsylvania driver’s license number appeared on the reverse side of the check.
On July 23, 2012, a female was depicted operating a tan Chevrolet Blazer. Sass was suspected to be the male passenger. A check dated July 22, 2012 was allegedly cashed for $919.78. Sass’ name appeared on the reverse side of the check.
On July 24, 2012, a female was depicted operating a tan Chevrolet Blazer. She allegedly cashed a check for $500. Her Pennsylvania driver’s license number was on the reverse side of the check.
On March 20, 2013, the female admitted to cashing several checks. However, she alleged they were provided and already filled out and signed for her. Also, Sass admitted to cashing checks and attempting to cash one, which was held by the bank and not returned to him.
According to the affidavit of probable cause in the Shugarts case, on May 4, 2013, police contacted Shugarts to speak with her about a check she’d cashed from the victim’s account during the previous summer in July or August. Shugarts admitted to cashing the check for a male who didn’t have his identification with him.
During an interview, Shugarts admitted to cashing a check for $2,100. She told police a male whom she’d known for many years requested her to cash the check. The male, she said, accompanied her to the bank. After cashing the check, Shugarts said she gave the money to the male.