Scott County judge finds Monia indigent

BENTON, Mo. -- At a prosecutor's request, a Scott County judge found Keith Monia indigent Thursday and ordered the public defender's office to represent him in a financial exploitation case filed in July.

Since April, prosecutors in two counties have filed 15 felony charges against Monia.

Attorney David Mann is defending Monia against four charges -- two each of forgery and financial exploitation of the elderly -- filed in April in Scott County, but he is not representing him in any other cases.

Monia, who has been in the Scott County Jail since Aug. 2, told Judge David Dolan in August he couldn't afford an attorney for the newer charges.

He filed another application for a public defender last month after Dolan suggested being incarcerated might affect his eligibility.

On Thursday, assistant public defender Jemia Steele said public defender Chris Davis had reviewed Monia's latest application and determined he still did not qualify for the office's services.

Scott County Prosecuting Attorney Austin Crowe asked Dolan to force Davis' office to appoint a lawyer for Monia so the case could move forward without further delays.

"We are saying that Mr. Monia took advantage of some elderly people in Scott County, and we'd like to see this case move forward," Crowe said.

Dolan found Monia indigent and scheduled the case for trial setting Dec. 20.

Crowe told Dolan he planned to seek depositions to preserve testimony from some witnesses in the case.

In April, Scott County prosecutors charged Monia with two counts each of forgery and financial exploitation of the elderly in connection with a case in which he is accused of taking $220,000 from a Scott City couple between September 2010 and June 2011, promising to invest the money in annuities for them.

Those charges triggered a state investigation into Monia's activities that yielded 11 similar charges -- three in Scott County and eight in Cape Girardeau County -- in late July and early August.

Monia is accused of taking more than $560,000 from nine people since 2007, usually by telling them he was going to invest the money for them but failing to make the promised investments.

Monia also faces a lawsuit related to one of the Cape Girardeau County cases. Attorney Jeffrey Dix is representing him in that suit, but online court records show Monia has no attorney for the Cape Girardeau County criminal charges.

epriddy@semissourian.com

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Benton, MO