UPDATE: US Police Seek Woman in Local Check Forgeries

(June 17, 2011) A Fridley woman being sought on charges of stealing checks out of mailboxes in Eagan and Apple Valley has been arrested.

, 27, is charged in two separate Dakota County District Court complaints with three felonies: check forgery, identity theft and offering a forged check. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Gunderson was arrested Thursday afternoon in Ramsey County, according to court documents, and made an initial court appearance Friday. She was released on her promise to make all future court appearances.

An omnibus hearing in her case is scheduled for Sept. 19 in Hastings.

She is accused of stealing checks from mailboxes, altering the amounts and then cashing them at the Apple Valley Walmart  and an Eagan bank. She is also charged with using a victim’s bank account information to make purchases at Walmart and Kwik Trip in Eagan and a T.J. Maxx store in St. Paul.

Police issued a nationwide warrant for Gunderson last month. 

(See below for original story)

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(May 26, 2011) A nationwide warrant has been issued for a Fridley woman accused of stealing checks out of mailboxes in Apple Valley and Eagan and attempting to cash them for more than their face value.

Andrea Leigh Gunderson, 27, faces three felony charges: check forgery, identity theft and offering a forged check. She faces a maximum penalty on each charge of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Gunderson is charged in two separate criminal complaints, filed in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.

In the first case, according to court documents, Eagan police were contacted late last December by an Eagan woman who said she had written a check to Xcel Energy for $71.85 on Dec. 16 and put it with outgoing mail in her mailbox at the end of her driveway.

A week later, someone from her bank called and told her that someone identified as Amy Gunderson had tried to cash a check in St. Paul for $1,200.85. The bank employee told the woman that the check wasn’t cashed because it looked suspicious.

On Dec. 31, Eagan police received documents from the bank, showing that multiple purchases totaling about $1,200 had been made using the victim’s account information at stores around the metro area on Dec. 23 and 24.

Police obtained surveillance video from Walmart and Kwik Trip in Eagan and a T.J. Maxx store in St. Paul, showing a woman identified as Gunderson completing transactions using the victim’s account information.

Gunderson faces charges in that case of identity theft and offering a forged check.

In the second case, an Apple Valley woman reported to police that her husband had written a check for $75 on Jan. 22 to pay a household bill. The check never arrived at its intended destination, but the victim learned that it had been cashed on Feb. 8 for $450 at the Apple Valley Walmart.

Apple Valley police examined surveillance video from the Apple Valley Walmart and posted a photo of the suspect on a tri-county alert network. Three different law enforcement officers identified her as Gunderson.

On March 8, according to the complaint, Gunderson contacted Apple Valley police to find out why they were looking for her. An officer told her he wanted to talk about a check being fraudulently cashed at Walmart, and asked if she knew about it; Gunderson replied, “Yeah,” the complaint says.

Gunderson told the officer she would call him back and make arrangements to meet him to discuss the matter. The officer asked if she remembered the Walmart transaction in Apple Valley to which she replied, “Yeah.” Gunderson said she would call back later.

Police in Eagan and Apple Valley have been unable to locate Gunderson, whose criminal history includes an April conviction for check forgery in Ramsey County.