Charges have been filed against a Montgomery Township man who allegedly cashed a U.S. Treasury check a second time, leaving a local check cashing store with nearly $5,800 in insufficient funds.
Hatfield Township Police were dispatched to United Check Cashing on Bethlehem Pike in February for a report of a bad check. The owner of the check cashing store told police that in December 2021, 37-year-old Robert Merriweather had allegedly cashed a U.S. Treasury check in the amount of $5,799, which was later determined to have already been deposited. The duplicate deposit resulted in a $5,799 loss for the store, according to charging documents.
The owner said he contacted Merriweather multiple times prior to reporting the incident, however Merriweather never returned the money, according to police.
In March, investigators contacted Merriweather, who allegedly acknowledged cashing the check in December 2021 but added that he was unable to pay it back. Merriweather said he must have previously deposited the check – which was dated Feb. 21, 2021 — but he did not remember when, according to the complaint.
Merriweather additionally told police it was not his fault that the check cashing store provided him the money if the check had insufficient funds, the report states.
Felony charges of theft by deception and receiving stolen property and a misdemeanor count of bad checks were filed against Merriweather on May 3, and he was subsequently taken into custody and arraigned on May 24 by District Judge Albert Augustine, who set bail at $1,000 unsecured.
His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on June 7 at 11:30 a.m. in front of District Judge Andrea Duffy.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
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