Serial forger faces 10 felonies after being arrested in Rexburg - East Idaho News
Crime Watch

Serial forger faces 10 felonies after being arrested in Rexburg

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REXBURG — An Idaho Falls woman has been charged with 10 felonies in Madison County.

Peggy A. Rodriguez, 40, also known as Anita Rodriguez, Michelle Rodriguez, Ana Beltran and Leticia Flores, was arrested last month for felony attempted fraud and forgery.

Madison County Prosecutor Sid Brown filed a amended criminal complaint Tuesday. In the complaint, Rodriguez is charged with a total of 10 felonies, nine of which are for possession of forged checks, and one for theft by deception.

This isn’t Rodriguez’s first run-in with the law. In Bonneville County she has faced more than 15 felonies, and was found guilty of six, all of which are related to theft and fraud. Rodriguez also has several other felony convictions in surrounding counties.

Rexburg police say they were contacted by Quick Cash on the 200 block of East Second North on March 17 in reference to a customer attempting to fraudulently cash a check.

Rodriguez was contacted by police and originally gave one of the many aliases she is known by, Capt. Randy Lewis told EastIdahoNews.com. Police were able to determine her true identity and discover she had a active warrant. Rodriguez was placed under arrest and booked into the Madison County Jail on March 18.

Later, Rodriguez admitted to officers she was high on meth, and court records show she also admitted to being involved with a group of individuals who defraud cash loan stores and shared the profits.

Court documents also indicate Rodriguez is currently being investigated in Idaho Falls, Blackfoot and Pocatello for similar crimes of fraud.

In June of last year Rodriguez was sentenced on felony charges of forgery and possession of a counterfeiting apparatus. Rodriguez was sentenced to a suspended term of eight years in prison and ordered to pay restitution to 10 separate victims.

Rodriguez has been on felony probation for nine months, supervised in Idaho Falls.

Rodriguez faces a minimum of one year and a maximum of seven years in prison for each forgery charge. She is due in court April 12 for a preliminary hearing.

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