Orange City, Iowa — A Sioux Falls man has been sentenced to five years in prison for forgery.
According to Sioux County Attorney Thomas Kunstle, 32-year-old Donald Emile Joseph Chasse III of Sioux Falls, SD, was sentenced this week for two counts of Forgery, a class D felony.
Kunstle says that on November 18, 2022, Chasse entered four Northwest Iowa bank branches cashing four forged checks totaling $19,852.68. The arresting officer’s statement on the criminal complaint states they were American State Bank branches and the checks appeared to have been from a Sioux Center landscaping business. Kunstle says that when the checks were returned, the banks contacted the Sioux Center Police Department, and along with the surveillance footage from the banks, they were able to identify the suspect as Chasse. He was charged with Theft in the First Degree, a class C felony, and four counts of Forgery, all class D felonies. Chasse was charged as a habitual offender, having previously been convicted of two prior felonies.
On Monday, Chasse pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery and was sentenced to serve an indeterminate prison term not to exceed five years in the custody of the Iowa Department of Corrections. Chasse was ordered to pay criminal fines, restitution in the amount of $19,852.68 to the banks, and to submit a sample of his DNA for profiling. Upon release, Chasse will be turned over to South Dakota where he is also wanted.
