A 39-year-old Chehalis man faces allegations that he forged multiple checks from an HVAC services company back in 2023.
Dale A. Golder made a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Oct. 30 for two counts of forgery and one count of second-degree theft.
Each charge is punishable by up to five years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
Golder is accused of forging two checks payable to the owner of Advanced Energy Systems in the amounts of $610.97 and $378.70.
According to court documents, the charges were initially filed on Sept. 12, 2024, and stem from alleged offenses that occurred sometime between Oct. 23, 2023, and Dec. 12, 2023.
The probable cause statement from the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office indicates the owner of Advanced Energy Systems had first contacted two companies that hadn’t paid him for recent services. He later received copies of the checks from both companies.
Upon receiving the copies, “(the owner) discovered that these two checks had been stolen and cashed using some sort of mobile app,” court documents stated.
As for who cashed the checks?
“On both checks, the payee ‘pay to the order"’ line had been modified from Advanced Energy Systems to Dale Goldner (sic),” court documents stated.
The owner reported the thefts to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and told investigators that the checks could have easily been stolen from his mailbox.
According to court documents, a sheriff’s detective confirmed that Golder had attempted to deposit a check for $378.70 using an app managed by Revolut Technologies.
That payment was reverted “after being reviewed by a payment team.”
Golder allegedly cashed the other check for $610.97 using Cash App.
During the preliminary hearing, Judge Paul Strophy set bail at $10,000 cash or bond in agreement with the state’s request, citing concerns that Golder wouldn't return to court if released from bail.
Before the judge made his ruling, defense attorney Rachael Tiller noted that Golder had said he had no idea there was an active warrant out for his arrest.
An arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 6. Chris Baum has been assigned to represent Golder.
