A Jefferson City man has been placed on five years of supervised probation for pleading guilty to felony forgery after attempting to cash a phony check for nearly $2,900.
Michael Hammond, 36, was also ordered during a hearing before Cole County Judge Dan Green to complete treatment court.
Hammond admitted to trying to cash the check at Central Bank's main office on Madison Street in November 2017, according to a Jefferson City Police Department probable cause statement.
The check showed it had been written Oct. 31, 2017, from the account of a Jefferson City business and had the correct information on it.
Hammond told bank employees he had gotten the check for work he had done at the business, but bank employees were suspicious and contacted the business owner, who told them he and his wife were out of state.
When questioned by authorities, Hammond admitted two men had told him they would pay him $200 to cash the check. He said he didn't know the men, who had stopped him while he was walking on the street.
Hammond said the men took a picture of his Missouri ID and sent it via text message to another person. He rode with the men to a hotel on Jefferson Street, where they got the phony check, then drove to the bank.
Hammond said the two men and their vehicle were gone when he left the bank after staff refused to cash the check.