Victims say they were conned by local man

Friday, January 23, 2015

McCOOK, Neb. -- A local man claiming to be too sick to face probation violations in North Platte may not be letting the illness slow down his criminal ways, at least according to an alleged victim.

Thirty-four-year-old Christopher Fichtner of 908 Norris Ave. failed to appear for a Lincoln County hearing in December and his attorney claimed his absence was due to chemotherapy, adding he was not expected to live past six months.

A recent story in the North Platte Bulletin cites an alleged victim who claims Fichtner attempted to scam her approximately a week after the hearing.

The woman said Fichtner used similar tactics she discovered in crime stories on the North Platte Bulletin website in recent years, which commonly involve him courting female victims with claims of a vast personal fortune while targeting their banking information or other valuables.

Fichtner used the alias Christopher Moore with the woman and said he owned ranches in McCook and Valentine. The woman said she was lucky enough to stumble upon a temporary driver's license with Fichtner's real name on it and discovered his criminal escapades after a brief internet search.

"Why he is not in jail, I don't know," the woman was quoted as saying.

Red Willow County has first-hand experience with Fichtner's claims to be terminally ill when he is faced with jail time. After being sentenced to 90 days in jail on March 18, 2014, Fichtner's sentence was considered completed 53 days later on May 10.

During that time, Fichtner actually served 13 full days in jail. He was released from jail on 10 different dates, each release for an an average 9-hour stretch, before being approved to serve the remainder of his sentence on house arrest at his mother's Norris Avenue home on April 8.

Fichtner was convicted in Red Willow County of unauthorized use of a financial transaction device valued between $200 and $500, reduced from an original charge alleging $500 to $1,500. A related theft by deception charge was not pursued in the case.

The North Platte Bulletin article dubs Fichtner a "modern day con-man" and cites reports from victims as far back as 2010 and as far away as Montana.

Fichtner will face sentencing on the probation violations in Lincoln County on Feb. 9, stemming from a 2012 forgery conviction. The original conviction stemmed from a bad check he wrote to Janssen Motors in North Platte. Fichtner left the North Platte auto dealership with three pickups before it was discovered there were insufficient funds and his name was not on the account.

He pulled a similar scam in Madison County in January 2014, paying $152,000 with two checks drawn on the bank account of a Norfolk victim.