One charged wtih theft, forgery

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - A Wabash Valley man has been charged with forging documents and stealing thousands of dollars from the estate of a dead couple.

Larry Leinenbach, 68, is charged with 13 felony counts of Theft, Forgery and Money Laundering. He appeared in a Vigo County court Tuesday.

An investigation into Leinenbach began when the daughter of the deceased couple, Fred and Sue Salmon, told police she found hundreds of thousands of dollars missing from her parents’ estate. Mr. Salmon died in March 2008 and Ms. Salmon died in October 1998, according to documents filed in court.

Investigators learned that Leinenbach had drawn up Ms. Salmon’s estate. Leinenbach had also done accounting work for a properties company the Salmons partially owned.

The Salmon’s daughter also reported finding a secret bank account into which hundreds of thousands of dollars in “dubious” deposits had been made, including some from the Salmons’ estate. After the Salmons’ deaths, Leinenbach was the only living person whose name was on the account, according to court documents.

“Leinenbach signed all of the checks on this account and wrote nearly all of the checks from this account to himself,” according to the probable cause affidavit filed in the case. “Those checks were then deposited into his personal account.”

Investigators also reported finding checks written to the account which appeared to be signed by the Salmons but which appeared to have been forged. They also found several letters that appeared to have been written by Ms. Salmon after her death. Those letters asked that Ms. Salmon’s assets be liquidated and the money be deposited into the account.

In all, Leinenbach is charged with stealing more than $100,000. His bond was set Tuesday at $35,000.