(Spirit Lake)– A Spencer man is in the Dickinson county jail in connection with an alleged counterfeiting and forgery scheme involving more than a million dollars.
48-year-old James Boris Horn has been charged with ongoing criminal conduct, a class “B” felony; theft in the first degree, a class “C” felony; possession of stolen property, a class “D” felony and five counts of forgery, each class “D” felonies.
Spirit Lake Police Chief Jon Martyr says the investigation started after authorities were contacted by a Spirit Lake bank who told them about a subject attempting to purchase a financial instrument with a counterfeit check. Martyr says a subsequent investigation led to the arrest of Horn. Police seized multiple countefeit checks, totaling about 1.4 million dollars, along with two vehicles: a stolen 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe that had allegedly been purchased with a counterfeit check; and a 2002 Chevrolet Impala that had been reported stolen from Spencer Hospital. Martyr says the Impala had Dickinson county license plates on it that had apparently been taken off another vehicle in Okoboji.
From there, Martyr says officers executed a search warrant on Horn’s residence in Spencer. He says it resulted in the seizure of a laptop computer, printers, check writing software and other items.
Martyr says additional charges may be pending against Horn in neighboring counties.
