Crime & Safety

Woman Charged with Forging BCA Letter

A nationwide warrant has been issued for a Bloomington woman accused of aggravated forgery.

A Bloomington woman has been charged with forging a letter from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and presenting it to a staffing agency in Eagan.

Maureen Leah Stewart, 28, faces one count of felony aggravated forgery in connection with the letter, which authorities say she gave to two staffing companies last April.

A nationwide warrant has been issued for Stewart. If she is convicted of the charge, she faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

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According to the complaint, filed in Dakota County District Court in Hastings, Stewart went through an application and screening process at the Eagan staffing agency on April 9, 2010.

When the agency recruiter told Stewart that a background check would be performed, Stewart told the recruiter that there was some criminal history in her background, but said it was not because of anything she had done but because her sister had used Stewart’s name when she was arrested, the complaint says.

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The recruiter told authorities that Stewart offered a letter that appeared to be from the BCA. The letter, dated Jan. 19, 2010, was addressed to Stewart and listed three offenses: harassment and stalking, identity theft and fleeing a police officer.

The bogus letter said that the offenses were in Stewart’s criminal history because her sister had used her identity, and claimed that the crimes were not committed by Stewart. It also said that the BCA was in the process of clearing the charges from Stewart’s criminal background study, and that in the meantime she should present the letter as a “reference” that would clear her of the charges, according to the complaint.

The letter was signed Ashley Gunderson. A BCA agent who investigated the matter verified that there is no such person working at the agency.

The BCA agent contacted Stewart, who admitted creating the letter so she could keep a job that she had secured through the staffing agency, according to the complaint. Stewart admitted cutting and pasting the BCA logo from a website, the complaint says.

Stewart was convicted in 2007 of harassment, in 2008 of fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle and identity theft and last October of theft by swindle.


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