The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
A man in Virginia was arrested for accusations of writing bad checks in several states on the East coast for the purchase of French bulldog puppies.
In early February, a man in Miles Township who was selling two French bulldogs received a call from someone that identified themselves as a Florida man named Mark Sampson.
Mr. Sampson reportedly told the seller that he was interested in buying the puppies for $6,000, and they agreed to meet on February 16 to conduct the sale.
The seller recalled that other bulldog puppies in the Amish community had been sold recently, and the purchaser had allegedly paid with fraudulent checks.
He confirmed that the phone number Sampson had called from was the same one used in the previous fraudulent transactions, and then notified the authorities with his suspicion about his potential buyer.
Investigators tracked the phone number to Virginia, and they placed troopers in the view of the home where the transaction was set to take place.
When the alleged buyer showed up on Tuesday, the authorities reportedly watched as he handed a check for $6,000 to the seller.
The troopers initiated contact and identified the purported buyer as 23-year-old Michael Acker, a resident of Suffolk.
The inside of Acker’s vehicle was inspected, and the authorities reportedly found four additional checks that they asserted to be fraudulent.
Acker was taken into custody and booked into the Centre County Correctional Facility. He is expected to face two felony counts of theft by false deception.
He is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, and his preliminary hearing is set for March 10.
During the police investigation, the authorities reported that they believe Acker has spent many months passing bad checks for puppies in East coast states.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a theft offense, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.