A 29-year-old woman faces four felony charges after fraudulently bailing out inmates from the Jackson County Jail with stolen credit card information, police report.
The investigation that led to the arrest of Jodi Lynn Messer of Seymour started in October 2019 after the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department received a report of fraud from the company that has a contract with the county to allow inmates to post cash bonds with credit cards.
Four individuals were bonded out using stolen card information obtained by Messer, but only one of the four knew they were being bonded out with a fraudulent card, according to a news release from Detective Mark Holt.
He said Messer was taking photographs of corporate credit cards while she was working at a local hotel and would then use those photographs to bond individuals out of jail on cash bonds.
Messer bonded out the four individuals using two separate fraudulent cards totaling around $16,000, Holt said.
All four individuals who were bonded out on the stolen credit cards were quickly apprehended, and their bonds were revoked, police said.
A warrant for Messer’s arrest was issued by Jackson Circuit Court Judge Richard W. Poynter on Jan. 9, and she was arrested at the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown, where she is being held on unrelated charges. Her trial has been set for 8:30 a.m. June 23 in Jackson Circuit Court.
During the investigation, it was determined Buddy Ryan Cox, 29, of Seymour was aware of the fraudulent cards and assisted Messer. Cox faces preliminary charges of forgery and theft and also was arrested at the jail, where he is being held on separate charges.
Detective Sgt. Stan Darlage assisted Holt with the investigation.