Man to plead guilty to forgery, theft, fraud charges

Saturday, November 1, 2008

A Greencastle man will be in court Nov. 6 to answer to charges of Class C felony forgery and Class D felonies theft, identity decepetion and welfare fraud.

According to court documents, Christopher J. Mullins, 24, fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits and used the money for his own personal gain.

Mullins allegedly applied for and was granted unemployment benefits in the name of a former roommate. The roommate, court documents said, discovered an Indiana Department of Workforce Development Visa debit card in his name when he was moving a dresser in a room that had formerly been occupied by Mullins. Along with the card, the roommate also found a piece of paper on which his Social Security number and date of birth were written, court documents said.

The roommate met with an investigator at the Putnamville State Police Post, where he signed a sworn affidavit saying he had never applied for unemployment benefits and that he believed his identity was stolen and used by Mullins.

The Department of Workforce Development confirmed that benefits had been dispersed in the roommate's name, and that the amount taken via the debit card was $861.

Mullins was identified as the person who used the card through surveillance photos from a Greencastle bank, court documents said.

Mullins' criminal history include a conviction for harvesting illegal ginseng and several traffic violations. He is currently on probation in Clay County for battery.

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  • I hope this young man learns that a life of crime is not his cup of tea. His skills and efforts only netted less than $1000. Perhaps someone will point out that a job at Mikkyy-Dees is much more profitable and, more important, legal.

    -- Posted by Xgamer on Sat, Nov 1, 2008, at 7:40 AM
  • I don't think this young man ever had any adult role models either. Hopefully he will learn a different path in life than that of the adult influences from his childhood. God Bless this young man, with God's will this young man can over come any abstacle.

    -- Posted by tjchopper on Sat, Nov 1, 2008, at 10:43 AM
  • If we could only find some way to apply these same standards to politicians....

    -- Posted by VonMises on Mon, Nov 3, 2008, at 12:07 PM
  • first off you are talking about a kid that grew up in putnam county..greencastle non the less.. and no that kid will never learn sad to say but its true.. and dont blame it on the parents.. hello.. he is 24 im pretty sure he knows right from wrong.. i do.. its your life u choose how to live it he choose this and now he should sit in prison.. thats my thoughts.. and screw putnam county

    -- Posted by dtitty on Sat, May 16, 2009, at 7:58 PM
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