PUNXSUTAWNEY BOROUGH, Pa. (EYT) – Criminal charges have been filed against a Punxsutawney man who is accused of collecting money from two victims for valuable sports cards and then forging two checks for over $59,000.00 to pay them back.
Court documents indicate the Punxsutawney-based State Police filed criminal charges against 26-year-old Cory Easton Geer.
According to a criminal complaint, on September 1, 2021, Punxsutawney-based State Police initiated an investigation into an alleged theft and fraud incident.
The complaint indicates police subsequently determined that Cory Easton Geer issued checks to two known individuals that appeared to be endorsed by a known victim, who is Geer’s mother. The checks were both issued from a personal checking account belonging to the victim and her husband.
Initial Investigation
According to the complaint, Geer issued the first check to the first known individual on June 4, 2021, in the amount of $44,000.00, and the second check to the second known individual on June 8, 2021, in the amount of $15,500.00.
On September 16, police interviewed the victim and showed her the alleged forged checks made out to the two known individuals. The victim reportedly stated she did not write the checks and said Geer wrote them. She told police she and her husband had confronted Geer about the checks, the complaint states.
The victim stated Geer had never been allowed to access her account and had never issued any checks from her account because he had his own account. The victim also told police she did not approve Geer to endorse, pass, or issue the checks, the complaint notes.
According to the complaint, Geer told police he owed money to the two known individuals he had provided the checks to.
Interviews With Additional Victims
According to a second complaint, police then spoke to a second victim, who reported he was previously friends with Geer and had known him for a long time. The victim reported he, Geer, and the third victim had been involved in online gambling through various gaming sites such as DraftKings and Fanduel Sportsbook.
The victim told police that Geer had told him he could get certain player cards that were “high-end expensive cards” for less than their retail value, then resell them at full cost. The victim indicated he then sent multiple Venmo transactions to Geer for the cards, but Geer failed to provide the cards or repay him the money he sent.
The complaint indicates transaction records from Geer’s Venmo account confirmed the victim sent him a total of $4,750.00.
According to the complaint, Geer told the victim he purchased the cards and had resold them for a profit. Geer then issued the victim a check in the amount of $15,500.00 for the cards he had supposedly sold. However, the check did not clear the victim’s bank.
According to a third complaint, police also spoke to the third victim, who also reported he had been involved in online gambling through various gaming sites such as DraftKings and Fanduel Sportsbook with Geer.
The victim told police he had agreed to pay Geer $2,046.00 for player cards and had also made additional payments to Geer for purchasing “valuable cards” through these gaming sites. Transactional records were recovered from Geer’s account Venmo account that reportedly confirmed that he had received a total of $7,769.00 from the victim.
Geer reportedly told the victim he had purchased player cards with the money and sold them for a substantial profit and made a total of $87,000.00, which they were to split.
However, the complaint indicates a subsequent investigation revealed Geer never purchased the cards and withheld the victim’s money. Geer then provided the victim with a personal check in the amount of $44,000.00, which appeared to be endorsed by the first victim. He attempted to cash the check, but payment was denied due to the check being “altered/fictitious.”
The following charges were filed against Geer through Magisterial District Judge Jacqueline J. Mizerock’s office on December 21, 2021:
– Forgery – Alter Writing, Felony 2
– Theft By Deception-False Impression, Felony 3 (two counts)
– Bad Checks, Misdemeanor 1 (two counts)
Preliminary hearings are scheduled for 10:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. on February 1 with Judge Mizerock presiding.
Copyright © 2024 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited.
