By Patrick Yost
Editor

A fraudulent checking cashing ring has struck in Madison.

According to Det. Carl Jones, city of Madison Police Department, the ring wrote fraudulent checks against the non–profit Madison–Morgan Cultural Center for more than $34,000. Three men associated with the scam were arrested Thursday in the lobby of the Bank of Madison attempting to cash another $24,000 in fraudulent checks on the Cultural Center’s account.

Officers were called to the bank at approximately 3:30 p.m. last Thursday when three men entered and were attempting to cash checks for $8,741.33, $7,789.62 and $9,253.14. Officers detained the men and made the arrest when notified by bank officials that the checks were fraudulent.

Jones said he has gathered intelligence from metro Atlanta sources that identify the scam as a growing threat to Georgia businesses. Jones said organizers of the scam identify homeless or desperate individuals with valid identification and Social Security numbers and then issue them fraudulent checks. The checks are created after the scam organizers obtain a real checking account and routing number from a legitimate business.

The persons cashing the check are then given payment from the organizers.

Jones said locally, the scam initiated in Atlanta but has now spread to rural and suburban areas. In this instance, he said, the initial checks cashed were for smaller amounts and grew as the checks cleared the bank.

Arrested last Thursday were Alfred Christopher Stanley, 39, Atlanta; Andre Dion Jackson, 38, Atlanta and Douglas Keith Jones, 43, Atlanta. All three were charged with forgery or checks. Jones was also charged with possession of marijuana after officers found two small bags of suspected marijuana in Jones front pocket.

In interviews, reports state, all three men told investigators that a man had dropped them off at the Interstate 20 interchange with the checks. They also said that they had done various jobs for the man and were supposed to cash the checks, retain their promised earnings and return the balance.

Investigators did not locate another accomplice. The checks had legitimate routing and account numbers and appeared to be legitimate. They were issued to the three men and all three men presented legitimate identification as they were attempting to cash the checks.

Jones warned individuals and business owners to safe guard sensitive financial data. Police are continuing to investigate, Jones said.