Brown County

District Court

• A felony check forgery charge was filed Oct. 3, 2023 against Michael Le Duong, 31, St. Paul.

According to court documents, New Ulm Police Cpl. T. J. Ibberson took a call on Sept. 11, 2023 from a Citizens Bank representative about a fraudulent check received and cashed at Citizens Bank in Lafayette. Duong did not want to wait for an attempt to verify the check and left. Staff learned the check Duong tried to cash was fraudulent and the information was passed on to Citizens Bank in New Ulm.

By the time the information was received by the New Ulm branch, Duong already arrived, cashed the check and left, possibly in a gray Honda. The check dated Aug. 30, 2023 listed Duong as the recipient in the amount of $4,493.15. Signatures on Duong’s driver’s license and on the check appeared to match. Photos of the individual passing the check appeared to match Duong’s driver’s license photo.

It was learned that the check passed in New Ulm was not the same check attempted to be passed in Lafayette, indicating Duong had multiple fraudulent checks. The fraudulent check passed in New Ulm was originally made payable to Northern Beverage.

New Ulm Police Investigator Tara Martin notified New Ulm Police Sgt. Jay Backer that Citizens Bank provided Duong’s social security number used when he passed the fraudulent check. Duong’s probation records confirmed it was his actual social security number.

Duong has three active warrants for failing to appear at court hearings. Police believe Duong is in custody in another county and is unlikely to respond to a summons so a warrant was requested.