North country businesses hit with bad checks

ADAMS, New York (WWNY) – A handful of small businesses have seemingly been hit with bad checks, and they’re all from the same person.

Business owners, growing frustrated, are now taking matters into their own hands and warning others: beware, or be out of thousands of dollars.

At Tug Edge Outdoor and More in Adams, owner Joe Hodges goes through his files on a Carthage-area man, who he believes wrote him a bad check earlier this month for $1,300. It’s the first time a check has bounced at the business in seven years.

“We’ve got a database of 9,000 customers,” Hodges said. “This is a one-off, but this is significant enough, especially after learning what the pattern is.”

The merchandise included a chainsaw, a blower pack, and a storage unit.

Hodges posted security images of the man on Facebook and soon learned a name. He even spoke with the man who said he’d be in to pay for the items, but he never showed.

The man then gave Hodges a picture of his debit card which matched his name.

“I took him at his word. We ran the debit card and it came back to a closed account. I knew we were being taken then,” he said.

The Facebook post also did something else for Hodges.

“Through our post, there were a number of other businesses who chimed in and said the same individual had done the same thing to them,” he said.

Hodges said as many as half a dozen businesses from Adams to Watertown to Carthage have lost out on thousands of dollars.

While police investigate, he’s warning other business owners to be on alert.

“I think it’s imperative,” Hodges said. “There may be another small business that, while that $1,300 check that he wrote us was bad, for another business they might not be able to make payroll or pay their rent.”

Krista Jones, owner of State Street Market in Watertown, said she also got a bad check from the same guy. Her business is out $1,000.

She said the man bought gold and silver jewelry back in May.

“$1,000 is $1,000,” she said. “That can go for payroll, inventory, for insurance.”

State Street Market posted a picture of the man believed to have written the bad check, and told customers he’s the reason the business is no longer taking checks.

“My goal here is to make everyone aware that they shouldn’t take checks from this individual. If he has already burned this many businesses, he’s not going to stop. There are no consequences for him so far, he’s not going to stop,” Jones said.

Both business owners said they filed police reports and are waiting for an arrest to be made. Police confirmed to 7News that there are investigations.

While the businesses tell their stories on social media, 7News is not identifying the man until police issue a statement or report an arrest.

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