MASON CITY – A Minnesota man is behind bars in Mason City at this time after allegedly bilking a North Iowa resident out of over $10,000.
According to police, on November 12, 2012, a North Iowa resident allegedly met Nicholas Ryan Shepperd, age 25, in Mason City and purchased some coins from Shepperd for $11,100. Police said that Shepperd had been advertising the “rare coins” on Craigslist.
After the transaction, the victim learned the coins were counterfeits. Mason City crime investigators tried to contact Shepperd, who lives in Minnesota, but were unsuccessful. MCPD investigators then issued a warrant for Shepperd’s arrest around early March 2013 for Fraudulent Practices, 1st Degree, a class C felony. Shepperd skipped a May 6th, 2013 arraignment in the case.
Shepperd was picked up by the Brooklyn Park, Minnesota Police Department on the afternoon of September 15th and taken to the Hennepin County Jail where he was held on the warrant from Iowa. He was then released on the morning of September 20th and transported to the Cerro Gordo County Jail where he has been held since September 20th on $10,000 cash-only bond.
No court date has been set in the case.
SUBJECT IS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY.
