Rochester Man Accused of Forging $15,000 Check from Olde Brick House

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A manager at a downtown Rochester restaurant is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from his employer. 

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That’s according to a criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County Court on Friday. 

The Rochester Police Department began investigating the check forgery case earlier this month. 

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Rochester  Manager Accused of Forging $15k Check Belonging to His Employer

An officer responding to the report of a suspicious check at the Olde Brick House learned a $15,461.45 check from the business had been cashed on October 2. 

The woman who reported the check said she and the business owner did not know what the check was for, the complaint states. 

She called the downtown Rochester restaurant and spoke with a manager, identified as 48-year-old Erik Paul Rasmussen, and he informed her the check was missing, the court document says. 

Landlord ID'D as Recipient of Olde Brick House Check

The woman got a copy of the check and saw it had been written out to a man who police identified as Rasmussen’s landlord, according to the complaint. 

The landlord told law enforcement that Rasmussen gave him the check to cover past due rent to avoid eviction and that Rasmussen stated he had his boss’s permission to write the check and pay for rent, the complaint says. 

He showed officers messages between him and Rasmussen regarding the check, according to the court document. 

Olde Brick House Manager Arrested for Check Forgery, Active Arrest Warrant

Officers spoke with Rasmussen at his home on Thursday and took him into custody on suspicion of check forgery and on an active arrest warrant in Nobles County, the complaint states. 

During a statement to law enforcement, Rasmussen said he wrote the check to his landlord as collateral, admitted he did not have permission to write the check and said “I shouldn’t have done it,” the complaint says. 

Rasmussen is charged with a felony count of check forgery. His conditional bail was set at $2,000 following his first court appearance on Friday and he’s due back in court next month.