A Cary woman has been charged with trying to pass a $35,000 bad check for a brand new car in McHenry while she was on probation for selling a rented skid steer to a man.
Margret A. Taylor, 51, of Cary, was charged with deceptive practice through use of bad checks, a Class 4 felony.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court alleges Taylor tried to pay for a 2023 GMC Sierra 2500HD pickup truck by presenting a check for $35,550.
The check was made out from a Fifth Third Bank account and Taylor knew the check “would not be paid by the depository,” the complaint said. The account holder on the check was a business out of Crystal Lake.
The incident occurred on May 16. It was investigated by the McHenry Police Department, which arrested Taylor on October 25.
The offense occurred just one month before Taylor was set to finish her probation for a prior case, in which she was charged in August 2019 with theft between $10,000 and $100,000, a Class 2 felony, and deception by false statement, a Class A misdemeanor.
A criminal complaint in that case said that Taylor listed for sale a 2014 Caterpillar 236D skid steer on the OfferUp app.
The equipment was actually rented from Ziegler CAT in Minnesota and was not owned by Taylor, the complaint said.
Taylor listed it for $22,000 on the app and eventually came into contact with a man, who she met on two occasions.
Prior to an agreement being reached between the two, Taylor told the man that there were no liens, holds or restrictions on the skid steer, according to the complaint.
The victim paid Taylor $20,500 after she sold him the skid steer on August 16, 2019.
The transaction occurred in the parking lot of Blain’s Farm and Fleet, 11501 Route 14 in Woodstock.
Taylor pleaded guilty in the case to one count of theft over $10,000, a Class 2 felony, in exchange for her second charge being dismissed.
She was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay $20,500 in restitution to the victim.
Taylor is scheduled to appear in court again on her latest charges on December 15.