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Man with long history of writing bad checks arrested in Wis. Dells
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RIDGEWAY — A man with six outstanding arrest warrants for financial fraud was arrested in Wisconsin Dells Tuesday afternoon. 

John W. Olson, 60 — whose address is listed in various court documents as Wisconsin Dells, Lyndon Station or Oregon — will make his first Iowa County Circuit Court appearance April 21 on charges of up to $500 in fraud against a financial institution and misdemeanor bail jumping.

Bail was set at $2,000 at a hearing Wednesday.

The case has been assigned to Grant County Circuit Judge Craig Day after Iowa County Circuit Judge Margaret Koehler recused herself, according to court records.

According to a Ridgeway Marshal’s Office news release, Olson passed a worthless check at a Ridgeway business.

An arrest warrant was issued May 18 in Green County for fraud against a financial institution by a convicted burglar or thief, a felony.

An arrest warrant was issued last April for Olson in Grant County on two counts of issuing up to $2,500 in worthless checks. 

Another arrest warrant for Olson was issued in Waukesha County Sept. 2 for a felony charge of misappropriating ID to obtain money. Another arrest warrant was issued May 13 in Sauk County on two counts of issuing up to $2,500 in worthless checks. Another warrant was issued May 28 in Dane County for up to $500 in fraud against a financial institution,

“I believe Olson is a serial thief using financial instruments to steal money from businesses,” said Marshal Michael J.F. Gorham in the news release. “This incident is the second time in my career that I have dealt with Olson, who has stolen from a business in another jurisdiction within 25 years of my career. Olson is very adept at taking a small number of monies under $500 to avoid felony charges in numerous cases. Currently, there is no law in Wisconsin to address this type of serial crime.”

Anyone with information on Olson is asked to contact the Ridgeway Marshal’s Office, 608-924-1030, oic@villageofridgeway.com, or the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office, 608-935-9500.

Olson was fined after he pleaded no contest to a Rock County charge of fraud against a financial institution in December 2020.

Olson was first convicted of two counts of forgery as a habitual offender in 1994 and placed on 10 years probation, according to court records. Olson’s probation was revoked in 2000 and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to court records.