Police Seek Woman in Apple Valley Check Forgery Case

A nationwide warrant has been issued for a Fridley woman accused of stealing checks out of mailboxes in Apple Valley and Eagan and attempting to cash them for more than their face value.

Andrea Leigh Gunderson, 27, faces three felony charges: check forgery, identity theft and offering a forged check; she's charged in two criminal complaints filed in Dakota County District Court.

In one case, an Apple Valley woman reported to police that her husband had written a check for $75 on Jan. 22 to pay a household bill. The check never arrived at its intended destination, but it had been cashed on Feb. 8 for $450 at the Apple Valley Walmart.

Apple Valley police examined surveillance video from the Apple Valley Walmart and posted a photo of the suspect on a tri-county alert network. Three law enforcement officers identified her as Gunderson.

On March 8, Gunderson allegedly contacted Apple Valley police to find out why they were looking for her, according to the complaint. An officer told her he wanted to talk about a check being fraudulently cashed at Walmart, and asked if she knew about it; Gunderson allegedly said she did, the complaint says, and said she would call back and make arrangements to meet and discuss the matter.

In another case in Eagan, which happened the December prior to the Apple Valley incident, an Eagan woman contacted Eagan police and said she had written a check to Xcel Energy for $71.85 on Dec. 16 and put it with outgoing mail in her mailbox.

A week later, someone from her bank called and told her that someone identified as Amy Gunderson had tried to cash a check in St. Paul for $1,200.85. The bank employee told the woman that the check wasn’t cashed because it looked suspicious.

On Dec. 31, Eagan police received documents from the bank showing that multiple purchases totaling about $1,200 allegedly had been made using the victim’s account information at stores around the metro area on Dec. 23 and 24.

Police obtained surveillance video from Walmart and Kwik Trip in Eagan and a T.J. Maxx store in St. Paul, showing a woman identified as Gunderson allegedly completing transactions using the victim’s account information.

Gunderson faces charges in that case of identity theft and offering a forged check.

She faces a maximum penalty on each of the three charges of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Police in Eagan and Apple Valley have been unable to locate Gunderson, whose criminal history includes an April conviction for check forgery in Ramsey County.