Moorhead Man Charged in Corporate Account Scheme

Moorhead, Minnesota — (trfnews.i234.me) — A Fargo man faces a felony theft-by-swindle charge in Clay County.

Travis Eugene Zierke, 43, is accused of using a company charge account without permission.

The allegations appear in a criminal complaint filed in Minnesota’s Seventh Judicial District Court.

Zierke has been charged with theft by swindle under Minnesota Statute 609.52.

A criminal charge is only an accusation. Zierke is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Company Reports Unusual Purchases

According to the complaint, a Moorhead officer investigated a fraud report on December 27, 2025.

The president of a Fargo company reported unusual activity on its corporate account at Mac’s Hardware.

Only a small group of employees had permission to use the account.

A store manager contacted the company after noticing several large purchases at the Moorhead store.

The complaint says purchases were completed on December 22 and December 23.

Another purchase was attempted on December 26, but the account declined the transaction.

The December 22 purchase totaled $795.04. The December 23 purchase totaled $571.73.

Invoices listed an authorized employee as the person who made the purchases.

However, that employee denied making the transactions.

The company president and employee then reviewed surveillance video from the store.

Both reportedly identified the person shown as Zierke, a former company employee.

The complaint alleges Zierke may have shown false identification during the purchases.

The authorized employee told investigators that Zierke appeared to be the person in the video.

The store manager also identified Zierke as the person who made the purchases.

Investigators compared the footage with police photographs, according to the complaint.

They reported that the person’s appearance matched Zierke’s.

The complaint lists the alleged loss between $500 and $1,000.

The filing describes the charge as a felony. It also lists a possible sentence of 364 days.

A fine of up to $3,000 may also apply upon conviction.

Court information may be available through the Minnesota Court Records Online system.

The complaint states that officers could not locate Zierke during the initial investigation.

Further court proceedings will determine whether the state can prove the allegation.

I’m Adrian Cole, reporting for TRF News.

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