(La Porte, IN) - A man with a history of theft was allegedly caught trying to make a major purchase with a rubber check in La Porte.

Koffi Gbetoudor, 31, has been charged in La Porte Circuit Court with Level 6 felony Fraud.

The Mishawaka man in April went to K Tool & Fire on Ohio Street, wanting to purchase a Badboy brand zero-turn lawnmower. There, he allegedly wrote a $4,000 check to make the purchase and requested the lawn mower be shipped to his address.

However, after he left the store, the dealership owner called the customer’s bank and was told not to accept the check because of insufficient funds in the suspect’s account. The order was immediately cancelled.

According to court documents, Gbetoudor had active warrants at the time for fraud and theft-related cases out of St. Joseph and Marshall counties, as well  as a prior conviction in 2018 for fraud in the former.

Gbetoudor could face as much as a 30-month prison sentence on the allegations in La Porte.