First it was a Monte Carlo, then a Ford Ranger.
Two separate criminal complaints filed in Rice County District Court over the course of eight days detail one Faribault woman’s alleged scheme to purchase vehicles without actually paying for them.
Rose Ann Rinehart allegedly wrote a $7,151 check for a vehicle from a car dealership in Faribault on Dec. 10, 2012. The check was connected to a closed account at a Faribault bank.
Rinehart reportedly returned the vehicle on Dec. 22, 2012, after the dealership owner called her and demanded she return it. The owner told police that Rinehart left the dealership in a white Monte Carlo with a temporary permit from a different dealership in Faribault.
Police talked to that dealership’s owner and learned that Rinehart had come in on Dec. 22 and written a check for $5,469 for the car. Once the owner was notified that the check was from a closed account, he also called Rinehart and demanded she return the car.
According to the complaint, that vehicle was also returned.
Rinehart then opened a checking account at a different bank on Jan. 14 but did not make a deposit into the account, according to a second criminal complaint. Five days later, she allegedly wrote out an $8,407 check to a dealership in Northfield for a 2004 Ford Ranger.
The check was returned due to “unpaid insufficient funds” on Jan. 24, according to the complaint. The check was re-submitted for payment the following week, leading the bank to make several attempts to contact Rinehart.
Rinehart never responded to the bank’s calls or letter, but she did reportedly tell one bank employee that she was expecting money from Social Security to use to pay the bank back.
According to the complaint, the only deposit into the account has been a $710 Social Security payment in early March.
Rinehart was found driving the Ford Ranger in Faribault on March 25. She reportedly told investigators that she was supposed to get $138,000 in a settlement with Social Security. She also admitted to buying two other vehicles in Faribault using a closed bank account.
Rinehart faces two counts of felony theft by check. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years of imprisonment and a $20,000 fine.
Rinehart was arrested April 4 and then released without bail the next day. She is set to appear for both cases with a public defender on April 16.
Reach reporter Rebecca Rodenborg at 333-3128, or follow her on Twitter.com @FDNRebecca
