Minneapolis Man Accused of Passing Fake Traveler’s Checks in Inver Grove

Follow Inver Grove Heights Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free newsletter

A 45-year-old Minneapolis man is accused of passing fake traveler’s checks at a store and a pizza restaurant in Inver Grove Heights last summer.

Anthony Eugene Campbell has been charged with two felonies: check forgery and offering a forged check. Each count is punishable by up to five years in jail and a fine of between $3,000 and $10,000.

According to the Dakota County criminal complaint, released this week:

Inver Grove Heights Police received a report on July 18 that a man passed five traveler’s checks—all allegedly in Campbell’s name—at the pizza restaurant four days earlier. The man used a $100 check to pay for a pizza, then returned a few minutes later to buy a soda with another $100 traveler’s check. Three other $100 checks also were passed that day.

When an employee attempted to deposit the traveler’s checks at a local bank, a bank employee said they were fake.

On July 25, another business contacted police about receiving fake traveler’s checks on July 14. A man reportedly used four $100 checks to buy items of nominal value and received change within a 20-minute time frame.

The restaurant and store are located within one block of one another.

Police compared signatures on all nine checks and found that they allegedly were signed by the same person, Campbell. The photo on Campbell’s driver’s license also allegedly matched the image of the man passing the checks on store surveillance video.

Campbell was issued a summons to appear in Dakota County District Court.