Sycamore woman arrested after selling landlord’s appliances on Facebook Marketplace, police say

SYCAMORE – A Sycamore woman is facing charges after police said she’s at the center of a string of counterfeit schemes, including selling her landlord’s kitchen appliances on Facebook Marketplace and using fake cash.

Madison H. Ricke, 22, of the 2500 block of Lilac Lane in Sycamore was arrested and charged with theft and forgery, both Class 3 felonies. If convicted of either felony charge, Ricke could face up to five years in prison. Ricke’s charges came after police said they connected her to sales of large kitchen appliances conducted through social media online retail hub Facebook Marketplace, the use of counterfeit money at a gas station and selling an iPhone that wasn’t hers in DeKalb. Ricke appeared before 23rd Judicial Circuit Court Judge Joseph Voiland on Tuesday for a virtual bond hearing.

“I’m not trying to be on the run,” Ricke told the judge. “I’m trying to do the right thing.”

According to DeKalb County court documents, Ricke allegedly sold an iPhone at a Walmart kiosk May 30, 2019, after the phone was reported stolen earlier that day from Hopkins Park in DeKalb.

Sycamore police allege that Ricke also sold a Whirlpool refrigerator and chest freezer that belonged to her landlord in September 2021. Ricke told police on Sept. 10, 2021 that she was in Florida for multiple days and returned to find the appliances gone from the property, according to records. However, a neighbor later told police they had witnessed a vehicle hauling a refrigerator from the property.

“[The buyer] was later contacted and confirmed the possession of the fridge but advised he purchased the fridge via Facebook Marketplace,” according to court documents. “[The buyer] and his wife both described the person selling the fridge as Ricke.”

Police later found listings for the appliances made by Ricke on Facebook and location history proving she was in DeKalb County during the time of sale.

Ricke also allegedly purchased goods with at least one counterfeit $100 bill on Nov. 29 from the Marathon Gas Station in the 1700 block of Sycamore Road in DeKalb. A gas station employee told police that they were handed a $100 bill with the same serial number, records state.

“This made [the employee] and her boss ... suspicious,” according to court documents.

DeKalb police later took the bill to a bank and learned the cash was counterfeit. Police identified Ricke on the gas station’s surveillance cameras and recognized her from a past encounter, documents state.

Ricke was booked into the DeKalb County Jail Tuesday, records show. Her criminal history included multiple theft convictions, one in DeKalb County in 2019 and another in DuPage County in 2018, according to court documents.

Voiland set Ricke’s bond at $10,000, after a request by DeKalb County Assistant State’s Attorney Brooks Locke that a monetary bond be set, citing Ricke’s history of failing to appear for court appearances and the nature of her new charges. She would need to post $1,000 to be released from jail.

Ricke cried at her bond hearing and told Voiland she didn’t have money to post for her release. She appeared for a status hearing Wednesday from the DeKalb County Jail and was appointed a public defender by Judge Philip Montgomery.

Ricke is due back in court at 9 a.m. March 14, according to court documents.