Polson man arrested for forgery

A Polson man is facing charges from a 2019 incident after he was recently arrested in Flathead County.

Matthew Logan Semsak, 32, was arrested Sunday, May 10 on a warrant for one felony count of forgery relating to a number of incidents in Flathead County.

Officials say he forged several checks and unlawfully used credit cards that didn’t belong to him.

According to the criminal complaint against Semsak, a woman spoke with a Kalispell Police Department officer on June 20, 2019, to report the fraudulent use of her checks and credit card. She reported her purse, checks, and credit card were stolen from her car while it was parked in Polson.

The woman reported the theft and was notified her credit card and checks were being used in Polson and Kalispell. She said there were unauthorized charges in four Flathead County stores. The amount totaled $1,910.26.

The officer reviewed surveillance video from three of the stores and saw Semsak allegedly making the purchases. He also had video of a man using the woman’s credit card at a store in Kalispell July 5, 2019, for items totaling $505.99.

Then, on Aug. 20, 2019, a Kalispell Police detective spoke with Semsak. He allegedly told the investigator a man named Mac Davis took a purse out of an open window of a Dodge parked near the marina in Polson. Semsak allegedly admitted to making some of the purchases, but also said he was made to do it by Davis.

The detective said Semsak didn’t tell him where he could find Davis and Semsak didn’t have permission from the woman.

Semsak is lodged in the Flathead County Justice Center on $25,000 bail. Semsak faces a maximum term of three years in the Montana State Prison and a $1,500 fine. He may also be ordered to pay restitution.