Crime & Safety

Warrant Issued for Burnsville Man Charged with Swindling Lakeville Man

Andrew Christian Luostari is accused of swindling a Lakeville man out of more than $2,000 in July.

A nationwide arrest warrant has been issued for a Burnsville man accused of swindling a man out of more than $2,000 in July.

Andrew Christian Luostari, 27, faces a felony charge of theft by swindle, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, a friend of the victim asked him to help Luostari get a check cashed on July 25.  

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Luostari told the victim that he had received a check for $2,859 from an insurance agency for an accident claim, according to the complaint. He told the victim that he needed the money fast because he wanted to buy a new motorcycle, and his bank was closed, the complaint says.

The victim took Luostari to a TCF Bank branch in Lakeville and cashed the check. The victim said he was able to get only $2,100 because he didn’t have enough money in his account to cover the entire check, so he gave Luostari $2,100 in cash and a post-dated personal check for $300.

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The victim also promised Luostari to give him the remaining amount of money once the check cleared.

TCF subsequently told the victim that the check was fraudulent. The victim told police that he had tried a number of times to contact Luostari, without success.

Police spoke to Luostari, who told them he received the check from Nissan and thought it was a rebate check from buying a vehicle from Luther Nissan in Burnsville last winter. He admitted to police that the victim cashed the check for him and gave him $2,100 in cash and a personal check, the complaint says.

Luostari also told police that he planned to pay the victim for cashing the check, and that he wanted to pay him back, according to the complaint.

However, Luostari canceled “numerous” meetings with the victim to get the matter resolved, and provided police with phony addresses, the complaint says.

Luostari’s current whereabouts are unknown. Anyone with information should contact local police.


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