Lincoln couple charged with passing bad checks
3/20/09 | 7 comments

Lincoln couple charged with passing bad checks


By Nick Sambides Jr.
BDN Staff

LINCOLN, Maine — As part of what police describe as a burgeoning investigation, a Lincoln couple appeared Friday in Bangor District Court on charges they passed about $3,000 in bad checks in at least seven Penobscot County towns.

Samuel and Jennifer Thompson, ages 27 and 29, were charged late Thursday with Class C forgery and negotiating worthless instruments after police served a search warrant on their Main Street home, Police Chief William Flagg said.

Officer Chad Chubbuck, the lead investigator, and other police have so far traced bad checks from the Thompsons to businesses in Bangor, Greenbush, Lee, Lincoln, Old Town, Passadumkeag and Winn, Flagg said.

“Checks are still coming in. We are exceeding $3,000 [in bad checks cashed] and they are still coming in,” Flagg said Friday. “We have also recovered a majority of the items purchased with the fraudulent checks.”

Flagg asked anyone who might have received a check from the Thompsons to contact police at 794-8455. Police are also working with law enforcement agencies beyond Penobscot County to see whether more checks have bounced.

Movie America, a video and book store on Main Street, was one of several stores at which bad checks were received, store purchasing manager Alan Dill has said.

Dill said he had received four checks from the couple totaling $544.24 since March 4. The first two came on March 4; the next, on March 11. Dill said he knew of two other local stores that were victimized.

Working with police, the Lincoln Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce issued an e-mail bulletin Thursday that Flagg wrote to businesses throughout the Katahdin and Lincoln Lakes areas warning them of the Thompsons’ alleged activities.

Samuel Thompson and his wife, who was or is also known as Jennifer Stevens, have an extensive record of arrests and convictions for fraudulent check passing and motor vehicle infractions, Lincoln District Court officials said.

Thompson received a $100 fine and paid $46.81 in restitution when he pleaded guilty to negotiating a worthless instrument in March 2007, court officials said. Jennifer Thompson pleaded guilty to two counts of that charge and paid $200 in fines and $123.31 in restitution in March 2007.

nsambides@bangordailynews.net

794-8215

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Comments
7 comments on this item
On 3/20/09 at 1:49 PM, AMomsOpinion wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

What a couple of losers, it is sad to say that some people do this kind of thing for a JOB. I know of a couple who lived in Portland that made a living on picking pockets & breaking into parked cars at the Maine Mall. These people are taking a risk every time, and for some it is a high...to steal. They get atticted and the more they get away with the more greedy they become. The problem is...one day this fantasy life of easy money will catch up to you, people don't forget faces, and neither do security cameras!

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On 3/20/09 at 1:50 PM, AMomsOpinion wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

addicted :)

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On 3/20/09 at 2:01 PM, bicycle1 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Can you spell Madeoff.

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On 3/20/09 at 5:08 PM, JD2008 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Yes, I can...Bernard L. Madoff.....can you?

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On 3/20/09 at 6:38 PM, equalrightsforall wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

This couple terrorized our communities. They are predators and they need to be locked up for a long time. Hey District Attorney are you listening?

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On 3/20/09 at 7:49 PM, crazy8 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Without constant prodding by the store owners the police would not have even followed up on this case. And even after their names were in the Lincoln News they still tried to pass more checks. Lock them away for a long time, we don't need them in Lincoln or anywhere else in Maine.

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On 3/20/09 at 8:08 PM, Mainesurvivor wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I was layed off in December of 2007 after cancer surgery and chemotherapy. My wife of 27 years and I dipped into our savings, 401k, and insurances to make ends meet. I am on my fourth unemployment extension an we are barely surviving. Luckily, we have not lost our home, but we are close.

I was just diagnosed with cancer again and have had another major surgery for removal of a very treatable cancer in my lymph nodes in my back. Without health insurance, the State of Maine has picked up the tab through a program called Charity Care. My wife and I (no kids) have lost everything because of this devestating disease.

My point is this. I have never, ever even considered breaking the law regarding writing bad checks, theft, robbery or embezzelment to relieve the catstrophic financial burden that has destroyed us for the rest of our lives. We have no hope whatsoever of regaining any type of finacial comfort. It is simply without comprehension how these people could write worthless checks knowingly and steal without conscience. Justice needs to protect the small business owners in Lincoln from this happening again. I will watch the follow-up story on this and hope these people that wrote these checks are prosecuted to the extent of the law.

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