Man facing 70 counts of forgery waives hearing

A man facing 70 counts of forgery waived his preliminary hearing, the Bingham County prosecuting attorney said Thursday.

Russell C. Leonardson was bound over to district court, where he will appear before 7th District Judge Darren B. Simpson on April 20.

Leonardson is accused of taking about $1.6 million from Idaho Select over the past several years while he was an employee of the company. When he was arrested in December, detectives said they had information about apparent thefts going back seven years, but could only initiate charges for the past five years due to a statute of limitations.

He is also facing two counts of grand theft by embezzlement. Both the theft and forgery charges are felonies with the same maximum sentence: up to 14 years in prison and a $50,0000 fine for each count.

The case has been investigated by Aberdeen and Blackfoot police, as well as the Bingham County Sheriff’s Department.