Benz Check Bounces: Prosecutor

Eugene Booth, 47 | Cook County Sheriff

Orland Park, IL, June 3, 2016 -- A Maywood man with three active warrants was charged with writing a check on a closed account as part of a down payment on a Mercedes Benz, prosecutors said.

Eugene Booth, 47, appeared before Cook County Judge Peter Felice on a charge of theft by deceptive practice.

The prosecutor said that on on Aug. 21, 2015, Booth went to the Joe Rizza Ford Lincoln auto dealership at 8100 W. 159th St., Orland Park, where he purchased a Mercedes Benz.

Booth allegedly put a $2,000 cash deposit on the car. He also wrote a check for $2,640. The dealership tried to cash the check two times, but it came back for insufficient funds.

Police later learned that the checking account had been closed in April 2015 -- four months before Booth allegedly bought the car.

The assistant public defender told the judge that Booth works as an insurance salesman.

Booth served two years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on a felony theft conviction.

Judge Felice set bail at $150,000.

Booth is due back in court June 23 in Bridgeview.