A rural Bloomfield man is accused of buying a red Ford Mustang, a silver Ford Mustang and an engagement ring for his girlfriend with thousands of dollars stolen from family in a check writing scheme.

Ethan Wayne Fitch, 19, of Bloomfield, was arrested last Wednesday, June 19, by Deputy Alan Jackson of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department after Jackson started looking into a theft.

Deputy Jackson, the investigating officer, began his investigation on June 6 when a couple came into the sheriff’s department to report their grandson, Ethan Fitch, had stolen his grandfather’s checkbook and had been writing checks from March through June.

The man provided the deputy with copies of the checks written on his account at IU Credit Union and he provided a copy of his account information showing all of the transaction dates when money was taken out of his account. The grandfather said the checks showed a signature of his name but he said the signature was not his and the handwriting on the checks was not his handwriting.

By the next day, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department had Ethan Fitch in custody. Fitch was arrested when he allegedly went in to the IU Credit Union and tried to cash a check from the grandfather’s account. Someone from the credit union called the law and Deputy Qualters arrived and transported Fitch to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department.

MCSD Deputy Qualters reported Fitch had confessed saying he stole two of his grandfather’s checkbooks, one while he was riding in the man’s truck and the other from his home. Fitch allegedly said he would write checks to his friends and have his friends cash the check then give him the money. He said his friends did not know they were cashing stolen checks. Fitch allegedly told his friends that his grandfather had a trust fund set up with his grandfather and he had permission to write checks from the account.

Fitch was booked in to the Monroe County Jail and when he appeared in court in Monroe County, he was charged with:

Forgery, a Level 6 felony.
Theft where value of property is between $750 and $50,000, a Level 6 felony.

Fitch bonded out, then was interviewed by Deputy Jackson.

Fitch allegedly told Deputy Jackson this all started when he went to a party at IU and a guy gave him methamphetamine then the same guy gave him more meth when he went to another party. Then he started going to the guy to buy meth with his own money but then some men threatened him and he went to his grandparents’ residence and took a checkbook to pay one of those men. After that, he just continued to get money out of the account – it was easy to get the money.

Deputy Jackson interviewed numerous people who had cashed checks for Fitch, including Fitch’s girlfriend, his girlfriend’s mother, people who had sold cars to Fitch and others.

During this alleged check writing spree, Deputy Jackson reported Fitch had purchased a red Ford Mustang and a silver Ford Mustang then gave one of the cars to his girlfriend, and he had purchased an engagement ring for his girlfriend.

The list of checks written is extremely long. Deputy Jackson reported the checks written in Greene County totaled $29,990. In Monroe County, the total was $11,900.

When Fitch was booked into the Greene County Jail, his bond was set at $24,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He has since been released.

Fitch is currently scheduled to appear in Greene Superior Court for an initial hearing on July 1 when he will be charged with:

Theft where value of property is between $750 and $50,000, a Level 6 felony.
Five counts of forgery, all Level 6 felonies.

Deputy Jackson reported some property was forfeited and recovered, and the grandparents were given possession of one red Mustang, one silver Mustang and one engagement ring.