Woman already going to prison to be sentenced for fake checks
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BLACKFOOT — A woman recently sentenced in Bonneville County for forgery has pleaded guilty to additional charges in Bingham County.
Paulee Ann Jester, 44, faced the 20 felony charges, including burglary, forgery, grand theft and possession of a controlled substance. As part of a plea agreement, 17 of those charges have been dropped.
Police were contacted in early October by Gateway Transitional Care Center about a possible fraudulent check for $1,118 written out to Elite Laundry and Repair as well as Jester. When investigators contacted Elite Laundry Repair, the owner said they did not know Jester. Corporate HR for Gateway Transitional Care told detectives a forged check with those names was in their system, according to court documents. It is unknown why Jester chose those two companies.
Detectives continued to find fraudulent activity involving Jester, and a search of her apartment revealed more phony documents. They also found the software and instructions she used to create and print the documents, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
On Nov. 28, officers tried to take Jester into custody. Police say she returned to her apartment and told the officer she would turn herself in the next day. She then ran off, and officers were unable to find her. Police eventually caught up with her for sentencing on other cases.
The charges of fraud in Bingham County were filed March 14, and on April 15, Jester pleaded guilty to two felony counts of forgery and one felony count of burglary. Each forgery count carries a maximum of 14 years in prison, and burglary carries a maximum of 10.
Jester is already serving up to five years, two fixed and three indeterminate for the Bonneville County fraud case, for which she was sentenced Feb. 11. In that instance, Jester used a vehicle title she knew was forged or altered.
District Judge Darren B. Simpson will sentence Jester at the Bingham County Courthouse on June 10.