CANTON — A Winthrop woman who was involved in the forging of more than $3,000 in checks belonging to a Gouverneur real estate agency was sentenced to probation Monday with a warning that she needed to return the money.
Sherry L. Kinney, 39, of 831 Buckton Road, was sentenced in St. Lawrence County Court to three years of probation for her March 20, 2018, guilty plea to felony second-degree attempted criminal possession of a forged instrument in a plea deal with the district attorney’s office.
At 3:13 p.m. on Oct. 23, 2017 in the village of Massena, she and Joshua P. White, were in possession of, and cashed, a forged NBT check belonging to Byrns Realty. Ms. Kinney told the court there were other checks as well.
It was previously reported by the district attorney’s office that the incident took place on Nov. 23, 2017. The court documents were amended Monday to reflect the correct date and time.
On March 27, 2018, Mr. White, 37, of 831 Buckton Road, Winthrop, pleaded guilty to felony second-degree attempted criminal possession of a forged instrument and was later placed on one year of interim probation to earn the opportunity to vacate his felony plea and plead to a misdemeanor.
On May 13, Judge Jerome J. Richards extended Mr. White’s interim probation another year to give him the opportunity to comply with the terms and conditions so he could benefit from his original plea deal. He had tested positive in drug and alcohol tests and recorded 10 violations of his interim probation.
Moreover, Mr. White was required to pay $3,498 restitution to Byrns Realty but only paid $130.
Similarly, Ms. Kinney was said to have only paid $130 toward that restitution; however, Judge Richards allowed her to vacate her felony plea and plead to the misdemeanor of third-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and was not given credit for the one year of interim probation she served.
He told her that she needed to comply with her probation conditions, which includes paying the required restitution. If she doesn’t it would be considered a violation and she could face a year in the St. Lawrence County jail on the new misdemeanor charge, whereas Mr. White faces up to four years in prison.