A Leesburg man is in the Lake County Jail for reportedly signing his son up as a member of a Native American tribe and then cashing and keeping the money from stipend checks that were supposed to go to his son.
William Shaun Troupe Sr., 43, of 107 S. Loan Oak Drive, is being held on $92,000 bond after being charged with grand theft, scheme to defraud, five counts of uttering a forged check, and five counts of criminal use of personal identification information. His arrest this week marked the end of an investigation that started in February when the 22-year-old victim and his mother went to the Mount Dora Police Department and said Troupe had cashed eight checks issued to the victim since 2018. Since Troupe lives in Leesburg, the case was transferred to the Leesburg Police Department, according to the probable cause affidavit.
The victim told police he sought help from his father (Troupe) to become a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma. The victim was led to believed Troupe was following up and inquiring about the processing, which was taking a considerable amount of time to approve. The victim eventually contacted the tribe and discovered he did not have an active account with the Oklahoma tribe but was referred to an associated tribe in North Carolina, according to the affidavit.
The victim also discovered that as a member of the North Carolina tribe, he was being issued checks approximately twice a year. He was told the checks were sent to his father’s address in Leesburg and all of them were cashed at 7 Stars Discount Beverage, 2005 W. Main St., the affidavit said.
The victim’s mother said Troupe told her their son would receive checks from the tribe every six months once he turned 18. She said he never received any checks and when she confronted Troupe about it, he told her the victim waited too long to apply and would not get any funds until he was older. She said Troupe continued to make excuses whenever he was questioned about the matter. The victim’s mother said the victim contacted the tribe and was told he had an active account since 2018 and that eight checks totaling approximately $30,000 were sent to Troupe’s address and cashed, according to the affidavit.
The victim’s mother gave the police department four cancelled checks written out to the victim by the tribe in 2020 and 2021. Although the victim and his mother had told police there were eight checks dating back to 2018, she was only able to provide copies of these four checks. The checks were all cashed at the liquor store and deposited into the store’s bank account, the affidavit said.
The owner of 7 Stars Discount Beverage was shown the checks and remembered cashing them. He said the same person cashed all the checks and there was a problem with one of them, but the man who tried to cash it brought back a new check along with a power of attorney. Along with each of the cashed checks was a copy of Troupe’s Florida driver’s license. Troupe never noted that the checks were made out to his son instead of him and that his license does not have a designation of junior or senior, according to the affidavit.
The officer contacted the victim’s mother about the power of attorney form and she confirmed that it was never authorized by her son. The form had been downloaded off an internet legal site and was not properly notarized, the affidavit said.
A check of Troupe’s criminal history showed he had an extensive record for a variety of offense, including multiple arrests and convictions for check fraud and theft offenses.
Based on the evidence, it was determined there was probable cause to charge Troupe. He was arrested Monday and will appear in Lake County Court on Aug. 1.
