Allen Sturgill Jr Jailed on $175,000 Bond Over $4,800 Check Fraud in West Virginia

BECKLEY, West Virginia — Raleigh County sheriff's deputies arrested an 18-year-old man after he allegedly wrote nearly $4,800 in fraudulent checks to finance a multi-day retail shopping spree and pay for a forearm tattoo of Jesus Christ.

Allen Bryan Sturgill Jr., of Daniels, West Virginia, stands charged with 48 separate felony offenses after allegedly pilfering checks from a family member and forging signatures across multiple commercial establishments in August. He remains locked in Southern Regional Jail on a $175,000 surety bond.

The ink was permanent. The payment was not.

According to Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office records, investigators launched a fraud probe in September after the proprietor of a tattoo parlor on Johnstown Road in Beckley filed a formal criminal complaint. On August 29, Sturgill entered the establishment and received a detailed tattoo depicting Jesus Christ on his right forearm. He then produced two checks to cover the $1,480 bill — one written for $1,400 and a second for $80.

The shop owner watched him sign both slips. Seconds later, a mobile banking alert chimed on the owner's phone, flagging insufficient funds in the account. Subsequent bank audits revealed the drafts were outright fraudulent.

The Four-Day Retail Blitz Across Beaver Stores

But the ink parlor was merely the final stop in a broader fraudulent run.

Authorities had already initiated a separate investigation on August 28, following a complaint that personal checkbooks had vanished from a local residence. Investigators pulled store surveillance tapes and bank ledgers, linking Sturgill directly to a cascade of unauthorized transactions at Beaver commercial outlets between August 22 and August 25.

In total, Sturgill allegedly burned through $3,297.75 across two retail franchises:

Investigators confirmed that every transaction involved forged signatures and the unauthorized use of a family member’s personal checking account to obtain consumer merchandise and services under false pretenses. Confronted during a recorded custodial interrogation, Sturgill admitted to detectives that he knowingly passed the fraudulent checks.

He offered no legal defense.

Forty-Eight Felony Counts and Circuit Court Transfer

Prosecutors moved aggressively, lodging four dozen felony charges against the 18-year-old. The formal charging document details 12 counts of forgery, 12 counts of uttering, 12 counts of possession of an unauthorized access device with intent to defraud, and 12 counts of obtaining labor or services through false pretenses.

The case has been formally transferred from magistrate jurisdiction to the Fayette County Circuit Court, where Sturgill awaits grand jury review and preliminary docket scheduling.