A Harper, Iowa man was recently arrested for an alleged incident that happened in Jefferson last July.

According to court documents, an investigation began with the Jefferson Police Department on August 21, 2025 for a check that was returned from a closed bank account in Des Moines. Court documents show that the check was dated for July 28th and over $1,000 of items were purchased from a business in Jefferson. The criminal complaint states that an employee later confirmed that the individual who purchased the items didn’t match the photo of the former account holder. 

Court documents state that investigators found out that similar incidents with checks with the same account and routing number were done in Carroll, Boone, Winterset, Ottumwa and Fairfield. The affidavit shows that investigators spoke with the Ottumwa Police Department, who confirmed a similar incident occurred, as well as the identity of the alleged suspect, 35-year-old Ryan Schulte. The employee from the Jefferson business later confirmed Schulte was the person who purchased the items. 

Court documents show that an arrest warrant was issued on September 12th and he was arrested on March 4th from the Polk County Jail. He was booked into the Greene County Jail, before being released back to the Polk County Jail where he will be transported to state prison for an unrelated conviction in another case. Raccoon Valley Radio will bring you more information as it becomes official.