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Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Soldiers wife stole savings, cops say.

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posted by Bob at Tuesday, May 15, 2007

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Soldier's wife stole savings, cops say
Charges allege she forged his name; she cites messy divorce
BY SHANNON PRATHER
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 05/15/2007 12:51:41 AM CDT


A Minnesota soldier serving in Iraq says he was blindsided when his wife sold the family's Maplewood home, raided his investment accounts and moved to Fargo, N.D.

From the war zone, John Kieser contacted Maplewood police. On Monday, Ramsey County prosecutors charged his wife, Dana Marie Kieser, with two felony counts of forgery.

"It's a sad case," Maplewood police Lt. Kevin Rabbett said. "You hope your family is thinking about your best interests, especially when you're over there."

Dana Kieser, 37, is accused of forging her husband's signature to close two of his accounts, which together were valued at about $28,000. She has not been charged in connection with the sale of the couple's home.

Dana Kieser's divorce attorney

1821 Onacrest Court in Maplewood, MN. . (Joe Rossi/Pioneer Press) (Joe Rossi)said his client told him she didn't break any laws and simply is ensnared in a bitter divorce.
"Sometimes people make claims and criminal allegations to try and gain an advantage in a divorce proceeding," said attorney Michael Gjesdahl, who is based in Fargo. "This has every appearance of being a manipulative stroke on his part that unfortunately the authorities have hitched their wagon to."

Gjesdahl said he has a copy of an e-mail written by John Kieser to his wife stating that if she would reconcile, he would ask authorities to drop the charges.

"It was a volatile relationship with components of alcohol abuse and physical abuse, which John denies," Gjesdahl said.

Dana Kieser directed a call to her divorce attorney. Gjesdahl said John Kieser still is deployed in Iraq with the Minnesota National Guard. He could not be reached for comment.
"The evidence at this point indicates that the defendant stole money from her spouse," Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner said. "Any allegations about bad feelings or marital troubles that might have surrounded that act aren't relevant to the thievery that's been charged. A theft is a theft."

Gaertner said the couple owned the home jointly and her office did not find anything criminal about the sale.

The forgery complaint does not mention the pending divorce but lays out a paper trail implicating Dana Kieser.

Before shipping out to Iraq, John Kieser, 37, completed a military power of attorney, which gave his wife the ability to manage his financial affairs if he became physically disabled, mentally incompetent or incapacitated.

On Aug. 11, 2006, Dana Kieser drafted a document claiming her husband lacked the capacity to manage his financial affairs and signed it in front of a notary public. John Kieser denies getting injured or becoming mentally incompetent, the complaint stated.

Three days later, she closed John Kieser's IRA account, valued at $25,000. Dana Kieser cashed the check, signing her husband's name and her own name and writing "Pay to the order of Dana Kieser."

She also closed her husband's Putnam Investments account, valued at $2,795 in August, again signing both her and her husband's names on the back of the check.

Dana Kieser purchased a house in Fargo in the fall. She then placed the family's Maplewood home on the market Oct. 30, asking $209,900. A listing agent described the three-bedroom house in the 1800 block of Onacrest Court as "Priced low for fast sale!"

"He heard through a relative or friend that the house was on the market," Rabbett said. "That's what prompted him to investigate."

Dana Kieser completed the sale of the home Nov. 29 for $199,900.

"Oh, my God. This is terrible," said Pauline Rohrman, Dana Kieser's real estate agent, after learning of the allegations. "She told me extensively about everything about him serving and about the communication. There was always open communication. She e-mailed him all the time."

Dana Kieser filed for divorce from Fargo in January, Gjesdahl said.

Rabbett called the case unusual and sad. The Kiesers, who married in 2001, have two children. Investigators communicated with John Kieser via e-mail to piece together the case.

"We've had cases of soldiers in Iraq having trouble at home - their houses were burglarized and they felt powerless over there. They've asked us to do special checks," Rabbett said. "There's been nothing like this. ... We are talking about a marriage. At the same time, we're talking about crime."

Shannon Prather can be reached at 651-228-5452 or sprather@pioneerpress.com.

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