Monia still seeking a lawyer on charges in Scott County

BENTON, Mo. -- Keith Monia still is trying to obtain legal representation on three financial exploitation charges filed against him in Scott County.

Monia, 52, faces 15 felony charges in Scott and Cape Girardeau counties.

In April, Scott County prosecutors charged Monia with two counts each of financial exploitation of the elderly and forgery 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, which resulted in 11 new charges -- three in Scott County and eight in Cape Girardeau County -- in late July and early August.

All of the charges involve similar allegations. 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.

Attorney David Mann is representing Monia on the charges filed in April, and attorney Jeffrey Dix is representing him in a lawsuit related to one of the Cape Girardeau County cases. But Monia told Scott County Circuit Judge David Dolan in August that he couldn't afford an attorney for the new charges.

Online court records show he was found ineligible for the services of a public defender at a Sept. 25 indigency hearing. At a court appearance Thursday, Dolan told Monia he could file another application if he wished.

"I don't know what to tell you. I guess we just kind of sit around and wait for something to happen," Dolan said. "Maybe the seas will part or something."

Dolan questioned whether being incarcerated would affect Monia's eligibility.

Online court records show Monia posted $75,000 bond on the April charges, but he is in the Scott County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bond on the later charges.

Monia told Dolan he did not have an attorney for the Cape Girardeau County charges, and Mann is not representing him on the second set of Scott County charges.

"I can't make him take your other case," Dolan said in court Thursday. " ... We'll try and get you something. If you qualify for a public defender, we'll get you a public defender. They say you don't qualify."

Dolan set the case for an Oct. 24 hearing to determine whether Monia is considered indigent because he is incarcerated.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Benton, Mo.