×

FD man arrested for forgery, theft in Pocahontas County

Chad Wadsley

ROLFE — A Fort Dodge man was arrested in Pocahontas County earlier this month for allegedly passing bad checks at a Rolfe convenience store.

According to criminal complaints, Chad Alan Wadsley, 47, wrote a bad check at Rolfe Heartland for $68.03. The check had two different names, an incorrect account number and an incorrect Iowa driver’s license number listed on the back.

The Pocahontas County Sheriff’s Office worked with several nearby law enforcement agencies to investigate the fraudulent checks and eventually arrested Wadsley on June 7.

Wadsley is charged with one count of ongoing criminal conduct, a Class B felony, and one count of forgery, a Class D felony. He’s also charged with the simple misdemeanor of fifth-degree theft for the $68.03.

Wadsley is currently facing fraud charges in three other counties.

In Webster County, he’s charged with two counts of forgery and one count of second-degree theft, a Class D felony.

From December 2021 through February 2022, Wadsley allegedly wrote checks to multiple businesses in Fort Dodge using his mother’s checkbook and forging her name. The forged checks totaled $2,643.14.

Wadsley allegedly wrote two checks in late December to Ampride on a closed checking account for $177.16, and also wrote a $285.65 check to the Iowa Outdoors Store.

In Emmet County, Wadsley faces one count of forgery for writing a fraudulent check of $1,600 to buy an automobile engine off of Facebook Marketplace. He faces another forgery charge through Palo Alto County for using a fake check for $506.08 at Swanson Hardware in Emmetsburg.

This is not the first time Wadsley has been in hot water for fraud. He’s had a slew of forgery charges over the past three decades in several Iowa counties.

In January 2015 in Webster County, Wadsley was charged with two counts of forgery and one count of third-degree theft. According to court records, he pleaded guilty to the two counts of forgery and the theft charge was dismissed.

In July 2011, he was charged with one count of ongoing criminal conduct and 16 counts of forgery in Webster County. He later pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery and the remaining charges were dismissed.

In 2005, Wadsley was charged with one count of ongoing criminal conduct, four counts of forgery and one count of second-degree theft. He pleaded guilty to the ongoing criminal conduct and one count of forgery, and the rest of the chargers were dismissed.

Wadsley also has a forgery conviction in Webster County from 2001. In 1994, he also faced a forgery charge in Webster County.

Since 2000, Wadsley has also been charged with forgery in Calhoun, Cerro Gordo, Boone, Greene, Hamilton, Humboldt, Polk and Story counties. He’s served several prison sentences and is currently on parole.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today