Milford business owner warns others after experiencing alleged $60K check fraud

A Milford caterer says there is something every business owner needs to know after her business was stiffed almost $64,000 when a customer’s check bounced twice.

If a customer is paying with a check, take a picture of their photo ID.

Stephanie LeFrancois, the owner of Forks & Fingers Catering in Milford, says she did her due diligence researching Gravel Road Markets, the event company that hired her catering company, but something still didn’t feel right.

She was right.

“He came to us last minute. He was a referral from the venue that we work with,” said LeFrancois about Gravel Road Market owner Jack Bishop.

The event was a lot of work and a lot of food on short notice.

Her company fed hundreds of fans at a Little House on the Prairie anniversary event last summer in Farmington.

But when the check bounced the second time, she went to the police.

“It was just so traumatic and literally with a figure that size, we’re, I think, just now over the repercussions of it,” she said.

“It was a great deal, so of course owning a small business, you’re like, ‘Wow.’ You’re like, ‘Great,’ and you want to accept the job right away,” said PFC Brianna MacDonald, of the Milford Police Department.

But tracking down a person who wrote a bad check is not always easy.

In this case, Milford police detectives said they had enough leads to arrest Bishop and charge him criminally, in part because they say he is accused of bouncing another check elsewhere.

Bishop, of Illinois, is in prison, accused of first-degree larceny in this case.

His lawyer told us Bishop is innocent of the charge.

Detectives told LeFrancois that, in the future, when accepting a check, she should take a picture of the customer’s driver’s license.

“It’s just something good to have because then at least you can say, ‘Hey, this is a picture of the ID.' Even if it is a fake ID, you know, you match the picture on the ID with the person, so at least you have a photo of the person,” MacDonald said.

In some cases, police say prosecutors won’t move forward with a case if the business didn’t get valid identification.

LeFrancois says her business is licensed with the state, she pays taxes, but she never learned this important piece of information about running a business in Connecticut.

Now she always asks for a valid photo ID when accepting a check and wants to spread the word as well.

“I am hoping that you are going to be the catalyst to get this out,” said LeFrancois. “This is why I’m here. I just don’t want it to happen to anyone else.”

The case continues to make its way through the court system.

It’s unclear whether LeFrancois will get her money back.