By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

Dion Demont Smith

WARSAW — A South Bend man was recently arrested after allegedly attempting to cash a fraudulent check at a Warsaw bank.

Dion Demont Smith, 38, South Bend, is charged with fraud on a financial institution, a level 5 felony; and forgery, a level 6 felony.

On Nov. 24, 2020, Warsaw Police officers went to Beacon Credit Union regarding a report of a man attempting to cash a fraudulent check. The suspect, later identified as Smith, was found and interviewed.

According to court documents, the Warsaw teller who received the check said representatives from the Beacon Credit Union location in Plymouth informed all local branches a man was attempting to cash a fraudulent check made out to Smith.

In an interview with police, Smith said earlier in the day, he met two unknown men driving a black Mitsubishi SUV at a South Bend gas station. The men offered Smith work in exchange for money.

Smith said one of the men yelled at a gas station employee for taking a picture of their vehicle. The group traveled to residences in South Bend, moving appliances and scrap metal. One of the men then provided Smith with a check for $3,248.14.

Smith told the officer he was supposed to cash the check, keep $200 and return the rest of the money to the men. The group attempted to cash the check in Plymouth, but left and went to the Beacon Credit Union location in Warsaw.

A Warsaw detective later went to the South Bend gas station and spoke with a manager, who said none of the employees remembered a person yelling at them for taking a picture. The detective also went to the South Bend residence where Smith allegedly claimed he was given the check and did not see a black Mitsubishi SUV at the residence.

Smith was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Jan. 27, 2023, with a $10,250 surety and cash bond.