Elgin man charged in paycheck scheme at St. Charles plant

The former night foreman at a St. Charles plastics plant has been charged with cashing fraudulent paychecks made out to a co-worker who left the company in February.

Police say Vincente Jimenez, 25, of Elgin cashed 10 checks totaling $3,000 before his arrest Saturday at LaMantia Plastics, 425 S. 38th Ave., according to a report made public Thursday.

Jimenez is accused of punching a timecard for an employee for nearly two months after she left the company. Police said Jimenez did not inform anyone the woman no longer worked there, and it wasn't until payroll discrepancies arose that his employer caught on.

"That's when they started checking the 10 checks and noticed the signatures didn't match," police spokesman Paul McCurtain said.

Authorities said Jimenez was "nervous" when they confronted him Saturday morning. He was later charged with three felony counts of forgery. Police said he also was fired, and additional charges are likely.

Jimenez, who lives on the 940 block of Ford Avenue, was released from custody this week after posting 10 percent of a $30,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.

LaMantia Plastics is a custom injection molding and contract manufacturing company with plants in St. Charles and Melrose Park, according to its Web site.