Woman accused of writing thousands of dollars in bad checks will face trial
The woman accused of writing bad checks at three jewelry stores in Saline and Ann Arbor will face trial after waiving her preliminary exam, according to court records.
Jayme Schaffer, 32, is charged with two counts of writing a no account check in Ann Arbor and one count of writing a check with non-sufficient funds in Saline. Schaffer waived her right to a preliminary hearing Thursday, according to court records.
Jayme Schaffer
Courtesy of Saline Police Department
Police said Schaffer went to Accent Jewelers in Saline on Aug. 18 and had the owner of the store show her several pieces of jewelry. Schaffer purchased a necklace and a ring, writing a check for $1,547.60, police said.
There was not enough money in her account to cover the cost, and the store’s owner alerted authorities, police said. Schaffer was arrested and charged in that case in November.
Schaffer is also charged with two separate incidents in Ann Arbor, according to police.
Police said Schaffer went to Lewis Jewelers on Sept. 12 and purchased several bracelets, writing a check for more than $3,000. The store reported the incident to police on Nov. 3 after finding that the check was written to an account that was closed, police said.
On Nov. 18, one day before her arrest by Saline police, Schaffer went to Schlanderer and Sons in downtown Ann Arbor and bought more than $5,000 worth of jewelry. The store contacted police on Dec. 1 after the check again came back to an account that was closed, police said.
Schaffer was arrested in Calhoun County on Nov. 19 and transferred to Saline police, who took her to the Washtenaw County Jail, a Saline police report indicated.
Ann Arbor police said Schaffer is being investigated for similar crimes in seven other Michigan counties.
Schaffer is not currently lodged at the Washtenaw County Jail, according to jail records.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
cibachrome
Wed, Feb 1, 2012 : 1:35 a.m.
You write a check, it gets 'approved' (but not deducted), you go online, you move the money out to another account, you skip a week or so, move the money back into the account, you write another check, it gets 'approved' you xfer the loot, and start all over again. So, my bank gets my pension check, it gets deposited on a Friday, not available until Tuesday (bank holiday on Monday), they play with the money overseas for a few days, make 8% in Hong Kong, then get it back into my account. They do this with a few thousand pension checks and take all the credit and the profit. I'm sorry, I missed the part about where they are charged with a similar shell game scheme.
Mary D.
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 11:48 p.m.
The police will search out someone and arrest them for writing a bad check?!! Our business was referred to the county prosecutor's office to fill out a report the last time we received a bad check.
racerx
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 10:12 p.m.
Years ago, before the electronic age of everything, when I was working at a local bank, checks over a certain dollar amount was called into the bank to determine if funds were available or not. Strange that these stores weren't doing this until after the checks didn't clear. These stores need to get into the 21st century.
Gorc
Wed, Feb 1, 2012 : 10:26 p.m.
Banks will not verify availability of funds any longer due to right to privacy laws.
Joseph Brando
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 9:37 p.m.
I guess the jewelry stores, who have access to account confirming technologies, didn't feel her little blonde-haired blue eyes fit their profile. Before you get angry at this post, give it some thought first.
racerx
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 10:13 p.m.
@Joseph Brando-I wasn't going to go there, but I glad you did! Oh so true!
justcurious
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 9:17 p.m.
A previous annarbor.com article said "A Saline police report said Schaffer has previously been convicted of embezzlement in Jackson County." <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Right-Response-Fundraising-Specialist-Jayme-Schaffer/137809312958895" rel='nofollow'>http://www.facebook.com/pages/Right-Response-Fundraising-Specialist-Jayme-Schaffer/137809312958895</a>
Joe_Citizen
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 9:16 p.m.
HMMM, My checks are ran through a machine that tells if there is enough to cash the check, and that's at any retail store. How is it that they allowed a check for so much money without checking if there was enough, or if there is an account attached to them? Telling everyone that jewelers don't check if these sufficient funds for a check is there and criminals have free will.
Gorc
Wed, Feb 1, 2012 : 12:15 p.m.
Actually, the machine that retailers run your check through does not communicate with any bank to determine if you have sufficient funds or not. It's a reporting service that retailers can chose to subscribe to. If a retailer uses this service and a customer gives them a bad check for any reason, the retailer can report the customer to this service. And any other retailer that uses this service would be privy to a potential loss if they accept a check from a customer who was reported on this service. Most banks will not verify if you have available funds in you account to a second party anymore, due to right of privacy laws. And these reporting services that retailers use also provide other services, such as collections of bad checks.
justcurious
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 9:19 p.m.
Interesting. I wonder if smaller retailers don't have automatic processes that could catch this. It would seem foolhardy not to call the bank and find out if the $5000.00 check was good before handing over the goods.
djm12652
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 9 p.m.
Seven other counties? whoa...
djm12652
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 8:59 p.m.
Wonder if someone wrote a check for bail money?
RJA
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 7:43 p.m.
Not in jail? So where is she? Could have had a complete make-over and still out writing bad checks or even just plain stealing...just saying.