Woman Charged With Writing Counterfeit Checks at Eagan, SLP Slumberland Stores

Written by Zac Farber

A St. Paul woman is accused of using phony checks to buy $5,000 worth of gift cards from two local Slumberland branches—one in Eagan and another in St. Louis Park.

Vanessa Estrada, 25, is charged with three counts of felony forgery and one count of felony theft by swindle after police responded to a call from the St. Louis Park Slumberland on Aug. 5.

The check Estrada gave to the Eagan branch earlier in the day was returned as counterfeit, according to the criminal complaint. It was a Cherokee Bank check with a routing and account number for a Wells Fargo checking account.

Estrada told St. Louis Park police that the checks were fake and that her paper driver’s license was also fake, according to the complaint. She said two men named “Joe” and “Peanut” had driven her to the mattress stores.

She also told police that she had used a fake check to buy a computer and gift cards worth more than $1,200 from a Red Wing Walmart.

Estrada faces up to 10 years behind bars.