Edgewater Handyman Who Forged $16K In Stolen Checks Sentenced

EDGEWATER, MD — An Edgewater handyman convicted of 51 counts of forging checks worth a total of about $16,000 that he stole from a customer has been sentenced to prison. Charles Daniel Connors, 37, was sentenced recently by Circuit Court Judge Alison L. Asti to 20 years in prison for theft between $10,000 and $100,000, as well as 50 additional counts related to the creation, possession, and issuing of counterfeit documents.

A resident called Anne Arundel County Police on Dec. 28, 2016, to report check fraud. The victim said he had hired Connors as a handyman, and let Connors go inside his house unattended while working. When the victim noticed a large discrepancy in his bank account, he contacted the bank and discovered 17 checks written to Connors that were cashed from his account for a total loss of $16,370.

The victim told police that Connors did not have permission to take the checks, write checks to himself, or forge the victim's signature.

"Mr. Connors preyed on a vulnerable man and committed a serious abuse of the victim's trust each and every time he forged a new check," said Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Wes Adams in a news release. "I'm grateful to (the judge) for recognizing Mr. Connors' complete lack of remorse, and passing the sort of meaningful sentence this community deserves."

On April 5, 2018, following a two-day trial, Connors was found guilty of theft between $10,000 and $100,000, 16 counts of counterfeiting a private document, 17 counts of possession of a counterfeit document, and 17 counts of issuing a counterfeit document.

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