A man who gave a fake name and forged a $23,000 check to buy a car in Washington County is now going to prison. The Washington County Attorney’s Office announced that 24-year-old Justin Thede of Cedar Rapids pled guilty to theft in the first degree and forgery, both are felony charges, and he has been sentenced to prison for up to 10 years.

On May 7th, Thede arranged to purchase a Ford Mustang in Brighton through the LetGo phone app. Thede referred to himself as Javiar Martinez and presented a cashier’s check to the owner of the car for the asking price of $23,000. The owner tried to cash the check the next day and a bank employee noticed the bank address and routing number were incorrect. At that time the sheriff’s office was called in and started to investigate, and the car was reported as stolen.

The car’s owner said that “Martinez” had been driven to Brighton by a woman in a dark colored Jeep. Through video footage at a gas station, a deputy was able to identify the Jeep’s license plate and connect it with a woman in Linn County. Officials were able to connect the woman to Thede and suspected he was using a fake name. After he stole the Mustang he then sold it for $3,000 cash to an unsuspecting third party in Cedar Rapids. That person then tried to transfer the title at the Linn County Treasurer’s Office and staff notified the Linn County Sheriff’s Office since it had been reported stolen.

The Mustang was returned to its original owner and law enforcement positively identified “Javiar Martinez” as Thede. He was arrested and on November 1st pled guilty. In addition to prison time, Thede will be required to pay victim restitution to the Mustang’s owner for damage to the car.