A Dubuque man has pleaded guilty to three charges related to check fraud. 26 year old Nicholas Hanten entered the pleas in Iowa District Court for Dubuque County to three counts of second-degree theft. Reports say Hanten registered the business TriState Solar with the state in May 2018. Later, he created a business checking account for it with Dubuque Bank & Trust with a $100 starting balance. Court documents state that, between May 31st and July 12th, 2018, Hanten repeatedly cashed checks from his DB&T business account at other local financial institutions. He also passed a check from a Premier Bank business account. Losses totaled more than $7,700 among the financial institutions. Police spoke with Hanten and he admitted to passing the checks without having sufficient funds. He told police that he believed he had a $5,000 line of credit set up with DB&T, but a bank employee said Hanten didn’t apply for that. His sentencing hearing is set for March 23rd.
