Jones Faces Sentencing on February 12

Fillmore County Judge Jeremy L. Clinefelter found Mindy Jo Jones guilty of eight out of 14 counts.
Jones was found guilty on the charges of two counts of Theft by Swindle, two counts of Theft by Check, three counts of Theft Take/Use/Transfer Movable Property-No Consent, and one count of Issuance Dishonored Check-Offense.
While Mindy Jones owned and operated a retail store known as Tin, Rust & Harmony, located in Harmony, Minn., she sold furniture and decor on consignment for business owner Marsha Angell based out of New Hampton, Iowa. The arrangement was supposed to be 25% of the sale of each consigned item to be retained by Jones, and the remaining 75% was to be paid to the artist.
According to court documents, Jones was issued checks from her business account with First Southeast Bank of Harmony to the artist and those checks were returned as Not Sufficient Funds, all of which remained unpaid at the time of the trial. Three of these checks totaled $16,689.45. Jones then told Marsha Angell she would purchase all of her inventory in her Tin, Rust & Harmony store, issuing a check for $15,728.22. The checks issued to Marsha Angell selling items on consignment at Mindy Jones’ store in Harmony totaled $32,417.67, all turned up as Not Sufficient Funds.
Court documents indicated that Jones did not have sufficient funds in her business bank account for Tin, Rust & Harmony beginning in January 2021, but she continued to deliberately mislead Marsha Angell while issuing her checks for payment of inventory. Jones’ business received loans from the bank and PPP loan money, and the moment funds appeared in her business bank account, she would move those funds to other accounts including her personal bank account.
Mindy Jones will be sentenced for these crimes on February 12.
Ten days later, on February 22, Jones will appear in Allamakee County District Court for her trial in which she is facing charges of arson connected to a building in which she operated a business in Waukon, Iowa.