Eight Arrested for Counterfitting Scam
By: Dylan Brooks
Updated: September 23, 2010
Eight people have been arrested after police say they were linked to a counterfeiting ring.
The Midland Police White Collar Unit says the ring started when local businesses began getting bogus checks in May. The scam hit 20 stores in Midland, Odessa, and Lubbock, and each time the scam was the same.
"These were homemade on a home printer, computer with actual routing numbers and account numbers from local businesses," Sgt. Alfredo Grimaldo of the Midland Police Department told Big 2. "The suspects were passing them off as payroll checks, cashing them out at local merchants."
In August, M.P.D. turned over the case to the U.S. Attorneys Office, who started rounding up the eight suspects. All face 5 years in federal prison if convicted.
Police say, the group took more than $25,000 with the bad checks.
