A northeast Iowa man made his initial court appearance this week after officials say he tried to buy multiple items using checks from a closed account. According to a report, 44-year-old Robert Barton of Zwingle is charged with a count of 1st-degree theft, two counts of 2nd-degree theft and a count of money laundering to acquire property. Authorities say Barton tried in May to buy a $17-thousand dollar vehicle, along with more than $55-hundred dollars’ worth of tools using checks from the closed account. Barton has been accused of writing dozens of checks on that account since late 2017. Records show the bad checks have totaled nearly $40-thousand dollars during a two-year span. They were written in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. His trial is being held in Johnson County as the checking account was through a bank in North Liberty.
