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A Minot man has been sentenced to serve time in the Ward County Jail after pleading guilty to forgery-utters or possess between $10,000-$50,000..
Jason Kalliokoski, 56, Minot, pleaded guilty to the Class B felony charge, and appeared before North Central District Court Judge Gary Lee on Oct. 25, for his sentencing.
The charge originated from a report from a Ward County-based insurance agent alleging an instance of insurance fraud. According to court documents, the agent brought the authorities attention to an insurance claim filed by Four Tribes Enterprises over damages caused by Kalliokoski while he was working as a contractor.
The agent said after a review of Kalliokoski's certificate of insurance it was determined his policy had lapsed. The agent reviewed Kalliokoski's certificate of insurance and found the declarations page policy period dates had been altered to make it appear as though he was still insured.
Investigators said in the affidavit of probable cause that Kalliokoski admitted he knew his coverage had expired in 2018, and that he had provided a packet of the expired insurance documents from the insurance broker to Four Tribes Enterprise to obtain a subcontractors job on Minot Air Force Base. Kalliokoski told investigators he created the forged document by picking up a blank certificate from the insurance agent's office and simply using a computer to fill out the rest of the information.
Investigators determined that Kalliokoski would not have obtained the job contract without the forged documents, which netted him $45,375 for the work he completed.
Lee ordered Kalliokoski to 360 days in the Ward County Jail, with 360 days suspended, resulting in the felony being deemed a misdemeanor. Kalliokoski will be required to complete three years of supervised probation and 100 hours of community service in the next 12 months. Kalliokoski was also assessed court fines and fees of $775, and will be required to pay $8,898.50 in restitution.