A man who posed as a Comcast employee to cash a fraudulent check in Ellettsville last August was sentenced to two years in jail in Morgan County on June 20.
Ohio resident Robert Yontz, 42, asked to purchase two packs of cigarettes with a Comcast paycheck and cash the remainder at the Westside General Store on Aug. 21, 2015.
Kalpesh Patel, the clerk, asked for identification.
Yontz presented him with an authentic-looking badge pinned to his shirt. Then, he provided a color photocopy of an Indiana driver’s license. The badge and photocopy matched.
Patel, skeptical, copied his name, driver’s license number and phone number, then cashed the check.
When he took it to the bank the next day, the teller said the check was not valid because the routing number did not belong to Comcast or exist at all.
Yontz carried out similar frauds in Mooresville, Indianapolis and at least four other states.
He was in jail in Leitchfield, Kentucky, when he was summoned to Morgan County to stand trial.
Citing a desire to save the state money, Yontz declined legal representation. He was charged with two counts of forgery, two counts of identity theft and two counts of theft.
He was sentenced to two years in jail to be served concurrently with his time in Kentucky. In addition, he will have to pay restitution to two of the businesses affected by his forgery.
Originally published in Ellettsville Journal, 2016. Republished here for archival and portfolio purposes.