Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green issued a press release this (Tuesday) morning, saying Cass County Health System CEO Todd Hudspeth was formally charged with felony Forgery, in connection to an incident where he allegedly deposited a check for his son’s education into his personal account at a bank in Atlantic. The check had the name of Hudspeth’s ex-wife allegedly signed by Hudspeth without her permission.

Green says the charges are the result of evidence gathered in a Forgery case previously filed by the Storm Lake Police Department.On May 4th, Hudspeth issued a written plea of Not Guilty to the charge in Buena Vista County. A pre-trial conference is set for June 2nd in that county, with a jury trial scheduled for July 12th.

Hudspeth was issued a citation by Atlantic Police, ordering him to appear in court locally, at a later date. In April, Hudspeth released a statement saying he had received an investment disbursement from a fund early this year and was in a hurry to put money into an account to pay his son’s college expenses. He admitted “In my haste I made a poor decision and endorsed the check with both my ex-wife’s name and my own to deposit the funds into a checking account,” he said, calling his actions “a foolish shortcut.”