Lovell man sentenced to prison for check fraud

POWELL (WNE) — After passing thousands of dollars worth of bad checks — including some stolen from his mother and grandmother —  to businesses around northern Wyoming, a Lovell man is headed back to prison. 

Philip K. Mickelson recently received a five- to seven-year sentence for felony counts of check fraud and forgery in Park County. 

Mickelson has pleaded guilty to additional felony check fraud-related charges in Campbell and Washakie counties that are expected to tack on an additional three years of supervised probation, which will be served after he’s released from prison. 

Charging documents written by investigators in Cody, Worland and Gillette say Mickelson issued more than $14,000 worth of bad or stolen checks between mid-November and mid-January. Most were written on an empty account belonging to Mickelson, but two of the purchases came from checks he stole from his family, charging documents say. 

Cody Police Detective Rick Tillery said Mickelson “established a pattern of writing bad checks with Bomgaars Stores across Wyoming,” while doing the same at Ace Hardware stores in Cody and Worland. 

Mickelson was sentenced in Park County in June and was ordered to pay $5,592.56 in restitution to the Cody Bomgaars and Ace stores. Meanwhile, he pleaded guilty to forgery in Campbell County last month and has agreed to pay $5,931.02 in restitution to the Bomgaars in Gillette, court records say. 

He’s set to be formally sentenced on Sept. 29, but the deal calls for him to receive a five- to seven year prison sentence that will overlap with the one he received in Park County. 

While 13 bad checks are detailed in the charging documents, Tillery obtained Citibank records indicating that, between early October and late December, Mickelson bounced a total of 22 checks.