A Wisconsin man has been sentenced to six years in prison after he pleaded guilty to paying a private seller with a fake cashier’s check during a car sale in McHenry.
David McCready, 44, of Sturtevant, Wisconsin, was charged in April 2022 with online theft by deception, forgery and possession of a stolen vehicle.
Prosecutors said a McHenry man sold a car to McCready outside of the victim’s home on October 20, 2020.
A criminal complaint said the car was a 2012 Acura TL and the two had connected for the sale over the internet.
McCready paid the victim with a cashier’s check and the victim later attempted to deposit the check at his bank, prosecutors said.
The complaint said the check was made out for $11,900.
It was determined that the check was fake and investigators learned that McCready also provided a fake name to the seller.
Home surveillance video was provided by the victim and the McHenry Police Department began working to identify him.
Investigators were eventually able to identify McCready as the suspect who provided the fake check, prosecutors said.
Court records show McCready entered into a negotiated plea deal with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office this week.
He pleaded guilty to one count of online theft by deception, a Class 2 felony, in exchange for a six-year prison sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
The agreement was approved by McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis.
McCready will receive 1,025 days of credit for time served and the sentence will be served at 50% in accordance with truth-in-sentencing guidelines.