ST. GEORGE — A man accused of bouncing a $25,000 check to an individual in Washington State was arrested by a detective in Washington City — the same detective that investigated a similar case resulting in a loss of more than $140,000 to a local bank last year.
On Thursday, 64-year-old Thomas Paul Madden was booked into jail facing one second-degree felony count of issuing a bad check and failing to make payment.
On Jan 9, investigators received a report from a resident in Washington State who said that she gave Madden approximately $200,000 for investment purposes the previous year.
She also told authorities she “hasn’t seen any type of return on her money.”
The complaint states she spoke to Madden in December when the suspect told her he would send her $26,000.
Shortly thereafter, she was notified by her bank that a check had been received from Madden in the amount of $25,000 and the funds would be released once the check cleared.
That never happened, according to the report. Investigators were provided a copy of the letter from the victim’s bank indicating “insufficient funds to cover the check.”
A copy of the check was provided to detectives that listed the suspect’s name and other identifying information indicating that Madden lived in the Washington County area. Officers were also provided screenshots of several texts purportedly from the suspect “telling her several times that he will send the money.”
In one of the texts, Madden was confronted about the bounced check. He replied that his bank was holding a deposit that should have been posted to his account. He promised to send the funds the following week.
Officers used a warrant to review Madden’s bank records indicating that on the day he wrote the $26,000 check, he had roughly $1,000. The account’s balance never reached more than $2,100 during the entire month of December, authorities said.
Madden was located at a hotel in Washington City, arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility. The arresting officer noted, “this is the second case where I have personally arrested Thomas for this exact crime.”
In 2020, an investigation of three fraudulent checks returned for insufficient funds reportedly caused a loss of more than $145,200 to a local bank, according to court records.
The suspect, identified as Madden, wrote three checks totaling more than $310,000. Days later, all three checks were returned for insufficient funds. By that time, less than half of the funds remained, leaving the bank with a loss of more than $145,200.
The bank provided copies of all three checks that were allegedly signed by Madden.
During a phone call, Madden told investigators the checks were written to an individual who had threatened to do bodily harm to him, as well as to his family, the suspect said.
He also said that while he knew he did not have enough money to cover the checks, he went ahead and issued them as payment to “appease the other party,” who the suspect alleged was responsible for the threats. The report also states that months later, the balances were “still outstanding,” an indication that Madden had made no effort to resolve the losses to the bank.
The first case was filed on June 10, 2022, when Madden was charged with three third-degree counts of issuing a bad check or draft. That case is currently under review by the Washington County Attorney’s Office.
In the most recent case, the detective requested that Madden be held without bail citing “two open cases alleging similar crimes.” The order was signed Friday morning and Madden remains in custody on a no-bail hold. The 2022 case is still pending in the courts.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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