Tin, Rust & Swindle

Mindy Bear. Mindy Jacobsen. Mindy Jones. Mindy Riley.

While her name has changed, her story has not.

For more than two decades, Mindy has been caught up in a whirlwind of nefarious activities, becoming a household name in area newspapers.

The telling of this story has been made possible with the collaboration of staff and resources shared between The Waukon Standard, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, and Fillmore County Journal.

Three Masked Men

Sumner, Iowa

(Bremer County)

Back in 2006, Mark Yungtum, age 29 at the time, was fixing up his childhood home at 214 West Fourth Street in the peaceful little Iowa town of Sumner – a population of just over 2,000.

On the evening of March 6, 2006, his house was set ablaze.

Nearby neighbors discovered Yungtum facedown by his burning house, and dragged him to safety. He was taken to Community Memorial Hospital where his injuries could be treated, eventually transferred to Allen Hospital in Waterloo, Iowa. He suffered first and second degree burns to his right arm, a stab wound to his left thigh, a chest bruise, and red ring marks around his neck.

Yungtum claimed that he was letting his dog out around 10:30 p.m., when three masked men assaulted him. They dragged him into the house, and tightened a wire around his neck with two wooden dowels – a garrote. While torturing Yungtum, the perpetrators poured gasoline in the house and lit a cigarette to ignite the fire.

Several witnesses who encountered Yungtum the night of the fire, heard him say that the three attackers had said that Mindy Riley might be sending him an “early birthday present.” He immediately blamed Mindy for the attack.

Upon further investigation of the fire by the Bremer County Sheriff’s Department, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Sumner Police Department, and the State Marshal’s Office, in September of 2007, Yungtum was arrested and charged with first degree arson for allegedly setting his house on fire.

During the jury trial, the prosecution claimed that Mark Yungtum intentionally injured himself and set his house on fire so he could collect the insurance money, which totaled approximately $242,000. He later admitted that he needed the money due to some financial problems.

At one point, Mindy Jo Riley, age 30 at the time, took the stand.

She shared that she had known the defendant, Mark Yungtum, since seventh grade.

Apparently, Yungtum knew Mindy pretty well, as it was shared with the courtroom that he had listed her as the beneficiary of his life insurance policy. As she testified, Mark’s son was also Mindy’s nephew. And, Yungtum’s relationship with his son’s mother did not end well.

Given the circumstances, should something happen to Yungtum, he wanted to make sure his son was under Mindy’s care. That’s why he had the insurance policy list Mindy as a beneficiary.

According to Mindy, Yungtum’s son called her “Nana Mindy,” and he was friends with her children.

Mindy also testified that she did not feel she owed Yungtum money around the time of the fire, dampening any theories Yungtum had claimed about the motives for the attack.

It was also shared with the courtroom that Mindy Riley and her future husband, Landon Riley, had been living in Yungtum’s house with him for roughly one year leading up to the fire.

Mindy indicated that Yungtum was having romantic feelings for her, but she was not reciprocating those same feelings. She said Yungtum didn’t like her husband and didn’t like her being around her husband.

During the trial, the prosecution was able to get Mindy to admit that she was facing up to nine years of jail time if she was convicted of all charges pending against her at that time. The prosecution wanted to make a point. She was facing these charges from another case at the time of the fire.

While Mindy’s husband, Landon Riley, was on the witness stand, he admitted that he knew his wife had borrowed money from Yungtum.

Investigators couldn’t tie Mindy Riley to the attack.

In 2010, the jurors couldn’t reach a unanimous decision, so the judge declared a mistrial.

In 2012, Yungtum appeared in court again before a new jury selection. He was found guilty by the jury, and sentenced to 10 years in prison for second degree arson.

He filed for a retrial in the Court of Appeals of Iowa, and was turned down in 2014.

Fast-forward to March 13, 2023, Mindy Jones (Riley) was arrested and charged with Arson- 1st degree (class B felony) along with animal abuse (aggravated misdemeanor) for the death of a canine as a result of a fire in Waukon, Iowa, in February 2022.

While Mindy Jones faces arson charges in Allamakee County, Iowa, Yungtum reflects on how his life has been impacted from the house fire on March 6, 2006.

Nobody who would decide his fate believed his story in the Bremer County courtroom. But, to this date, Mark Yungtum stands behind his story about the three masked men.

Reflecting on what led up to the events surrounding the house fire, Yungtum recently shared that he had allegedly loaned Mindy Riley up to $14,000, and she wasn’t paying him back. And, he said he gave her a diamond necklace and set of earrings to use as a fundraising benefit item for a little girl who had lost her father, but Mindy instead returned one to the store to collect the money and then pawned the other piece of jewelry for money. According to Yungtum, the necklace and earrings were valued at approximately $1,200.

According to Yungtum, he scheduled to meet with an attorney to take Mindy to court for the money she owed him. He said he told Mindy he was taking her to court. The night before he was scheduled to meet with his attorney is when he alleges that three masked men assaulted him and started his house on fire on March 6, 2006.

He still blames Mindy to this day. “The more and more she continues, everything is coming back to repeat itself. She just continued to do things over and over, and there were really no consequences,” said Yungtum, referring to Mindy’s numerous charges and court appearances over the years.

Mark Yungtum spent 13 months in the Clarinda Correctional Facility in Clarinda, Iowa.

When he got out of prison in June 2015, he had to start his life over. But, it wasn’t easy.

“It’s horrible. Getting out of prison and I couldn’t get my old job back. Nobody wanted to hire a felon,” remarked Yungtum. He had to cash in his 401k to make ends meet until he found a job, which took roughly one year and five months after his release from prison.

Yungtum, who has never been married, has a son who is now 21 years old. Before all of this happened, he owned a home he bought from his parents when they moved out – the house that burned.

Today, at age 47, he works third shift for a food grading factory, and lives in his mother’s home. She passed away in 2020, so he’s been taking care of his disabled older brother.

More than 17 years have passed since the house fire, and as Mark Yungtum observes Mindy Jones (Riley) facing arson charges in Allamakee County, Iowa, he is questioning whether he should talk to an attorney about revisiting his case. If anything, to at least clear his name and have his civil rights restored.

Angela Bear, residing in New Hampton, Iowa, is the mother of Mark Yungtum’s son. Mark and Angela haven’t been in a relationship since spring 2003. Bear took to the witness stand during Yungtum’s arson trial, and said she didn’t believe he would do all of that to himself. She still believes he is innocent to this day. She doesn’t know who did it, but she doesn’t believe it was Yungtum. Bear said there were a lot of people in Sumner, Iowa, who were surprised by the outcome of the arson trial.

Corinne Schares, who now resides in the Oelwein, Iowa, area, was in a relationship with Mark Yungtum prior to the 2006 fire. She was also asked to appear as a character witness during Yungtum’s arson trial. Schares also didn’t believe that Mark Yungtum would have fabricated the story about the three masked men. She believes his story to this day. “What happened to Mark is like one of those ‘Dateline’ investigative TV stories,” commented Schares. She’d like to see justice served for Mark Yungtum’s sake.

According to Mindy Jones, contacted via social media, she stated, “I had absolutely nothing to do with that fire or the case.”

Forgery

Fredericksburg, Iowa

(Chickasaw County)

John and Megan Eimers trusted Mindy Jo Riley, and her husband Landon Riley, so much that they were in their wedding. The Eimers even named them godparents of their children.

Apparently, they trusted them too much.

Once Mindy gained access to the Eimers family farm accounts, she exploited the opportunity to transfer funds to her benefit.

Mindy Jo Riley gained access to John Eimers’ Farm Credit Service checkbook, and began forging checks in John Eimers’ name and depositing the majority of the money into a bank account under her husband’s name – Landon Riley. The checks ranged between $3,800 and $24,060. In total, she forged about $134,500 in checks; money she stole from John and Megan Eimers.

But, wait there’s more.

In 2013, the Rileys purchased a Harley-Davidson motorcycle for about $8,500. They arranged to have the monthly payments withdrawn from John and Megan Eimers’ bank account, without their knowledge.

And then, somehow, Mindy Jo Riley gained access to Eimers’ credit card information. The Rileys used Eimers’ code for his fuel account, so they could buy gas and diesel for their vehicles.

Mindy Jo Riley even convinced Eimers to loan her more than $150,000, which she promised to repay from her anticipated settlement from a slip and fall injury claim.

As money was disappearing and the Eimers were experiencing financial and emotional strain, their farm operation was facing bankruptcy. John and Megan were even contemplating divorce.

At some point, they started to realize that many of their arguments revolved around what Mindy was telling each of them separately.

“We didn’t see then how toxic she was to our relationship,” Megan Eimers said, according to court reports and news coverage provided by the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.

After navigating their finances and discovering what was taking place, they went to law enforcement.

Over a three month investigation, authorities identified a series of thefts that had taken place between November 2012 and November 2013.

While Mindy Jo Riley was under investigation, she accused John Eimers, age 37, of rape. Law enforcement investigated these allegations, collecting DNA, but no charges were filed.

In September 2014, the Bremer County Sheriff’s office arrested Mindy Jo Riley, age 34 at the time, on seven counts of second degree theft, eight counts of first degree theft, and 15 counts of forgery. If found guilty on all charges, Riley was facing a maximum of 100 years in prison.

During the Mindy Jo Riley forgery trial, John and Megan shared how they could not let this happen to anyone else.

Riley’s criminal history of theft and forgery charges dating back to 1997 were brought into the picture, pointing to dozens of arrests in at least six counties with multiple convictions.

In March 2016, facing 30 counts of forgery, Mindy Jo Riley, age 36, pled guilty to five counts of forgery.

At the time of sentencing, Riley’s defense attorney Linnea Nicol said that Riley would soon be a single mother, as she and her husband were heading for divorce. And, Mindy Jo Riley would be left as a single parent of three daughters, ages 11, 15, and 17. Riley’s defense attorney was suggesting five years of probation instead of time in prison.

Mindy Jo Riley apologized for her part in the forgery scheme. She said she learned from the incident, and had completely changed her life. As she said she will likely be a single parent, she was hoping for probation so that she could start over together with her daughters.

In June 2016, Riley was sentenced to 10 years in prison for forgery – a felony.

Judge Rustin Davenport awarded John and Megan Eimers roughly $412,000 plus interest and costs from the lawsuit in a judgment against Mindy Jo Riley. The judge granted an additional $50,000 judgment for punitive damages.

At the same time Mindy Jo Riley was having her days in court, her husband Landon Riley, age 36, was sentenced to two five-year terms in prison running concurrently. Landon Riley pleaded guilty to two counts of willful injury causing bodily injury for holding a gun to his wife Mindy Jo Riley’s head and endangering a Chickasaw County deputy. The initial second degree kidnapping charge against Landon Riley was dropped.

Why Would He

Want To Kill Him?

Sumner, Iowa

(Bremer County)

On January 6, 2017, a man by the name of Steven Anthony, age 46, paid a visit to the home of John and Megan Eimers in rural Sumner, Iowa.

As reported in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, “Shortly after 10 p.m., Anthony arrived at the Whitetail Avenue home and asked to speak to John Eimers. Immediately following the discussion, Anthony attempted to kill Eimers by shooting him at close range with a handgun,” according to Bremer County Sheriff Dan Pickett. “Eimers was able to return fire, ultimately killing Anthony. Eimers was shot multiple times during the encounter, Pickett said, and was transported to University Hospitals in Iowa City.”

Following the shooting incident at Eimers’ home, deputies from two county sheriff’s offices paid a visit to Mindy Jo Riley’s home on Oak Street in Fredericksburg, Iowa.

Riley, who was facing another pending fraud case at that time, was sentenced to serve up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of forgery for crimes committed against John and Megan Eimers.

At the time of the shooting incident, Riley had not served any of her sentence. She was taken into custody that week. Previously, she remained free after filing an appeal and posting an appeal bond.

The Iowa Supreme Court dismissed her appeal as frivolous on December 12, 2016. According to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, a request for further review was denied on January 5, 2017. An order for Mindy Jo Riley to begin serving her sentence was issued from the Supreme Court.

Law enforcement was not able to link the shooting incident to the case between Mindy Jo Riley and the Eimers couple.

Swindling

Harmony, Minnesota

(Fillmore County)

Back in early 2020, a new store opened up in Harmony, Minn., under the name of Crate & Barrel.

Shortly after opening the store, the owner, Mindy Jones, changed the name from Crate & Barrel to Tin, Rust & Harmony.

On September 2, 2021, the Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a Harmony business owner regarding a potentially illegal raffle drawing taking place in Harmony, Minn.

Photographs of raffle tickets were provided, and it was determined that Tin, Rust & Harmony business owner Mindy Jo Jones (a.k.a. Mindy Jo Riley), was the organizer of the raffle. The prize item listed was a 2021 John Deere UTV Gator.

Upon review of the raffle tickets, Investigator Sergeant Dan Dornink noticed important missing information. The location of the drawing, ticket number, and the license/permit number were not included on the raffle tickets.

The raffle tickets read, “Proceeds to benefit the Fillmore Central Fine Arts & the Childhood Cancer Community, in memory of Gabby Lou Brown.” After checking with both organizations, neither of them had given their approval for Mindy Jones to use their name as part of the raffle.

Dornink contacted the Minnesota Gambling Control Board and referred the investigation to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety – Alcohol & Gambling Enforcement Division.

Special Agent Bridget Roddy was assigned to the case. She reviewed Facebook posts for Tin, Rust & Harmony regarding Mindy Jones’ plans for the raffle. Later, Roddy called Jones to discuss the raffle. Jones’ story about the raffle kept changing throughout the phone conversation with Roddy.

Roddy kept an eye on the Tin, Rust & Harmony Facebook page in the days that followed her conversation with Jones, and the story about the raffle continued to change.

Jones had reprinted raffle tickets to comply with the requirements for ticket numbers, a date, location and gambling license. However, it was discovered that the gambling license, which was supposedly tied to an organization located in Iowa, turned out to not have any affiliation to the license. And, that organization had applied to be recognized as a non-profit organization, but had not yet received approval from the State of Iowa. It was determined that leadership of the organization Support Our Veterans had been misled about Jones’ story regarding the raffle.

Roddy also discovered that Bodensteiner Implement had been contacted by Mindy Jones at their Cresco, Iowa, location, regarding purchasing a Gator for a raffle prize. Jones wrote a $1,000 check for deposit on the Gator, that bounced due to insufficient funds. The Gator for the raffle was never acquired at Bodensteiner, and they would not allow her to make the purchase without presenting a cashier’s check.

Raffle tickets had been sold in Minnesota and Iowa, including Cresco, where Jones had her daughter selling raffle tickets at her school. According to the court reports, “One of the teachers reported the raffle tickets to the Cresco Police Department and referenced the lack of required information on the ticket.”

On October 6, 2021, Special Agent Roddy and Investigator Brian Holcomb with the Minnesota Gambling Control Board paid a visit to Tin, Rust, and Harmony to meet with Mindy Jones. As the investigators questioned Jones about the raffle, the story continued to change. Roddy and Holcomb were trying to determine how many raffle tickets had been sold and how much money had been collected. After a thorough interview with Jones, the investigators determined that her story wasn’t adding up. According to information collected by the investigators, Jones should have had $2,460 from 123 raffle ticket stubs. Again, numbers weren’t adding up, based on money Jones had located in her truck, a plastic container in the store, and cash in the bank.

In the conclusion of the investigator’s report, it was stated, “Upon review of the defendant’s criminal history, Jones was convicted of Fogery on March 14, 2016 in Bremer County, Iowa Court Case Number 02091 FECR007818.”

On November 30, 2021, Mindy Jo Jones was charged with two counts of Theft-By Swindle (Felony and Gross Misdemeanor), and four additional counts; Gambling – Other Related Acts-Conduct Lottery/Possess Facilities, Gambling – Other Related Acts-Participate in Income Gambling Place/Shop, Gambling – Sell/Transfer Chance Participate Lottery, Gambling – Disseminate Information about a Lottery. Theft-by Swindle, a felony charge, carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. All other charges range between 90 days and one year in jail.

On August 22, 2022, Mindy Jo Jones, 42 at the time, entered a plea agreement to serve time for Theft-by Swindle. All other charges would be dismissed.

On Monday, October 24, 2022, Jones was sentenced to five years of probation and 120 days in jail.

In response to her sentencing, she made the following request to Judge Opat via e-mail on October 26, 2022.

Dear Judge Opat,

I am writing you this letter in regards to Case #23CR21514. On Monday October 24 I was sentenced to 5 years probation and 120 days in jail. The jail sentence was scheduled to begin on Monday October 31. I am writing to you to ask you to continue my jail sentence and allow me to get my interstate compact completed and do the jail time here in Iowa. I am able to serve the time here in Iowa but not until the interstate compact is complete. I will then be able to enter into a work release program here in Waterloo, IA where I also live and work. Work release in Fillmore County isn’t feasible for the mere fact that I work 2 hours away from the Fillmore County Jail.

I gained employment after my hospital stay with Schott’s Trucking, LLC. here in Waterloo, IA. Unfortunately being absent from work for 118 days is going to cause me to lose my employment and I am currently a single mother of a minor child.

I respect my punishment and am more than willing to pay for my crime, I’m just in high hopes we are able to get it done in Iowa so that it works for everyone involved. My employer is telling me I am a huge asset to their company and are more than willing to work with a work release program so that I am able to stay working for them. When I spoke with the Waterloo Women’s Center for Change about their work release program, they told me it would only take about a week for them to be able to accept my interstate compact and then a work release program can be set up for me at that time. They aren’t able to allow me to do the work release program until my interstate compact is received and I am given a probation officer.

I spoke with County Attorney Brett Corson about this and he doesn’t have any problem with us doing my sentence this way if you approve my request. This will allow me to keep my job, be able to continue to support my daughter, and keep me close to my support system, children, and family which are all here in Iowa. Please consider my request and allow me to keep moving toward a healthy and positive future. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Sincerely, Mindy Jo Jones

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On November 29, 2022, Fillmore County Attorney Brett Corson submitted a letter to Judge Opat in response to Mindy Jo Jones’ request.

The Honorable Matthew J. Opat, Judge of District Court, Fillmore County Courthouse, Preston, MN 55965

RE: Jail Sentence – State v. Mindy Jones, Ct. File no. 23-CR-21-514

Judge Opat:

I am in receipt of an e-mail from Ms. Jones requesting that her sentencing order be amended to allow for work release and “approved programming.” I have no objection to this amendment as long as she is actually spending the overnights in jail. l cannot agree to her being released to some type of treatment programming in lieu of jail. Moreover, I would ask that the language be slightly revised to say “programming approved by her Minnesota or Iowa probation agent.” I trust that the probation agent can serve as quality control to make sure the programming is legitimate. Thank you for considering my input.

Respectfully,

Brett A. Corson

*******************************

Mindy Jo Jones was granted her request to serve her remaining 118 days in jail in Black Hawk County, Iowa.

On November 16, 2022, First Southeast Bank of Harmony filed a claim against Mindy Jo Jones and Tin, Rust & Harmony with the Fillmore County District Court because her loan taken out in August 2021 was in default for $190,333.

In addition, First Southeast Bank of Harmony filed for foreclosure against Jones on her now vacant Harmony store that was tied to a $105,000 loan taken out in 2020 and a $25,000 economic development loan Jones received from the City of Harmony.

The Fire

Waukon, Iowa

(Allamakee County)

Mindy Jo Jones announced she was opening another Tin, Rust & Harmony location in Waukon, Iowa, around December 2021, which was covered in local media. In the meantime, she was keeping her Harmony location open.

On February 13, 2022, at approximately 6:30 p.m., the Waukon Fire Department was dispatched to a call involving smoke and fire coming from a building occupied by Tin, Rust & Harmony. The Decorah Fire Department provided mutual aid, bringing their aerial ladder truck. Fire Departments from Lansing and Waterville also assisted on the scene.

According to The Waukon Standard, multiple buildings were destroyed and several others impacted by the fire. Paws Up Pet Supplies experienced significant structural damage, and tenants of upstairs apartments were displaced. The fire exhausted the City of Waukon’s water supply, as the event lasted nearly 24 hours. A boil advisory went into effect for the city drinking water, and all classes were canceled for the day at the Allamakee Community School District due to the lack of water.

The Waukon Police Department released a statement on March 13, 2023, stating that “due to circumstances surrounding the fire, the Iowa State Fire Marshall’s Office was requested to investigate. As a result of the investigation, 43-year-old Mindy Jo Jones was arrested on March 13, 2023.” Jones was charged with Arson – 1st degree (class B felony). She was also charged with animal abuse (aggravated misdemeanor) for the death of a canine as a result of the fire.

The Iowa State Fire Marshall’s Office was assisted by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Iowa DCI Lab, the ATF, and the Allamakee County Attorney’s Office.

Mindy Jo Jones is expected to appear in Allamakee County District Court for an arraignment on April 10, 2023.

Facing More Charges

Cresco, Iowa

(Howard County)

While Mindy Jo Jones was operating her Tin, Rust & Harmony store in Harmony, Minn., she was living with a man in Cresco, Iowa.

The Cresco man has accused Jones of writing more than $37,000 worth of checks out of his account in 2021. In total, Mindy Jo Jones is facing 33 counts including Theft-by Check, Theft-by Swindle, and Forgery.

According to the criminal complaint, from the stolen funds, $26,955.50 were deposited into the Tin, Rust & Harmony account and another $2,872 went into the Shirt Off My Back account, both businesses owned by Mindy Jo Jones. The remaining $7,351 was deposited into her personal bank account.

Mindy Jo Jones is expected to appear in person at Fillmore County District Court on June 8, 2023.

And More Charges

New Hampton, Iowa

(Chickasaw County)

While Mindy Jo Jones was operating her Tin, Rust & Harmony store in Harmony, Minn., she also established a relationship with Marsha Angell, of New Hampton, Iowa.

Angell sold Jones products to sell in her store, and Jones was issuing checks to Angell that were returned by the bank due to non-sufficient funds.

The bounced checks totaled $33,437.29. In addition, Jones failed to pay Angell for $5,076.53 of inventory. In total, Angell was seeking at least $38,513.82

As a result, Jones is awaiting trial for theft and bad check charges for $33,437.29 in checks used to pay for merchandise at her store in 2021.

Mindy Jo Jones is expected to appear in person at Chickasaw County District Court on June 7, 2023, and also at Fillmore County District Court on June 8, 2023.