Green Bay police officer accused of forging ex-wife's signature to sell car

Doug Schneider
Green Bay Press Gazette

GREEN BAY - A Green Bay police officer is accused of forging his ex-wife's signature to sell a car via Craigslist earlier this year.

Michael C. Jeanquart, 34, of Denmark, is charged with one felony count of forgery. He is due in Brown County Circuit Court Wednesday morning for an initial appearance.

A criminal complaint alleges that Jeanquart forged the signature of his ex-wife, Rachel, on the title of the couple's 2010 Kia Forte sedan after she had told him not to do so. The forgery took place while Rachel Jeanquart was out of state, special prosecutor Colleen Nordin alleges.

Read the forgery complaint against Michael Jeanquart

Michael Jeanquart has not worked as a police officer since department officials learned he was being investigated, Chief Andrew Smith said. Per department rules, he continues to be paid while his case is being resolved.

Jeanquart admitted to a detective from the State Capitol Police that he signed his wife's name on the document after finding a buyer on the Craigslist online classified site, the criminal complaint states.

It says he needed the money from the sale quickly and tried to get the lienholder to mail him the title.

"Knowing he had a buyer, and needing the money from the sale to cover other expenses, Michael attempted to expedite the title being sent from Sun Trust," the complaint reads. "However, Michael (learned) they offered no options for that."

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Someone convicted of forgery can be sentenced to up to six years in prison, fined up to $10,000, or both.

Rachael Jeanquart notified state transportation officials on May 10 and reported the suspected forgery, the complaint says. It says she did not object to his plans to sell the car, and would have signed the title when she returned from Florida.

"Her complaint was that he took it upon himself to sign her name rather than waiting," the detective wrote, "after she specifically told him not to do that."

The complaint does not say how much money was involved in the sale.

Smith said he relieved Jeanquart of his gun, badge and police ID. The officer will be paid until his case is resolved.

Green Bay Police Chief Andrew Smith.

Efforts to reach Michael Jeanquart were unsuccessful. There is no telephone listed for his Denmark address.

Nordin, the special prosecutor, also is the Door County district attorney. It's common to appoint a special prosecutor in a criminal case against a police officer so that the local DA's office can avoid the appearance of conflict.

The allegations are the latest black eye for a department that Smith has vowed since he began work in February 2016 to improve.

Since late last year, officer Michael Rahn was fired because of a falsified report, and night-shift Lt. Robert Korth and officer R. Casey Masiak resigned amid allegations they harassed fellow night-shift officers.

Rahn

Also, Masiak and Officer Kurt Brester were named in a $1.5 million lawsuit filed by a man, later convicted of armed robbery, who claims they bloodied his head during a 2016 arrest.