Counterfeiting illegal aliens hit bank (Georgia)

The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a massive counterfeit check ring that two weeks ago hit a local bank for what is estimated to be more than $100,000.

Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said that on the afternoon of Thursday, April 13, numerous Hispanics cashed Horton Homes payroll checks at The Peoples Bank. Authorities don’t know exactly how many people cashed checks, some went to more than one teller, but Sills said more than 100 checks counterfeited from a Horton Homes payroll check were cashed. Sills said those cashing the counterfeit checks produced fake immigration cards – commonly known as “green cards.”

“In all of my years in law enforcement, and my experience in bank security, I’ve never seen checks so well counterfeited,” Sills said. “They counterfeited every detail. No one in the bank or even the personnel at Horton, observing the checks, could tell them from the legitimate check. That in itself attests to the professionalism of this criminal activity.”

Though Horton paydays typically fall on Friday, Sills said the counterfeiters “obviously knew that Horton was going to be closed on Good Friday, and they had to be cognizant of exactly what time Horton employees got off that day because the plant closed at 4:30 p.m. and the counterfeit checks were cashed between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.,” Sills said. “They cashed the counterfeit checks late enough in the afternoon where the bank employees wouldn’t get suspicious but they would be gone when the legitimate Horton employees arrived with their legitimate checks.”

The sheriff declined to say how much the bank lost, but a review of some of the counterfeit checks combined with the volume of checks indicates it was more than $100,000.

“This was done in such an artful and sophisticated manner that there was little if anything that the bank could have done to prevent it.”

So far, one arrest has been made in relation to the case, but Sills said no one has been charged with counterfeiting the checks. Last week, authorities arrested an illegal immigrant who was working at Horton Homes.

“We have arrested one Guatemalan national whose name came up during the course of this investigation,” Sills said. “Initially he claimed to be a Mexican national and produced a counterfeit Mexican drivers license and counterfeit ‘green card.’ We charged him with false statements and writings and with second-degree forgery for the green card. He entered the country with a visa, but it of course had expired two years ago. In addition to that, he somehow obtained a legitimate social security card in his name, making him eligible for benefits.”

Sills said the counterfeiting was reported to him on April 17, the Monday following the Easter holiday. Immediately he sent a detailed emailing out to other law enforcement agencies and banks across the country.

“Much to my surprise, I got back several responses,” Sills said. “This phenomenon is widespread across the nation. Groups of Hispanics have been doing this off and on around the country for a couple of years. Within the last six months there seems to be a spike in this type of activity.”

Sills said two Florida counties reported back to him that they had experienced nearly identical counterfeiting schemes in February. A similar incident occurred a few weeks ago in West Virginia. Several months ago, Westchester County, New York, also experienced an identical case.

“Law enforcement as far away as Utah contacted me where they had a case,” he said.

Banks around Atlanta have also been hit, Sills said. One Sun Trust branch had 34 checks cashed by a group of Hispanics. Those checks were also counterfeited payroll checks (though from another company, not Horton Homes).

Though in some respects the case resembles another massive bogus check cashing ring Sills broke up a year ago – the Preston West case involving counterfeit checks being passed by homeless people recruited by West off the streets of Atlanta – Sills said this case involving illegal aliens creates different problems.

“This presents an extraordinary challenge to law enforcement,” Sills said. “We face an almost insurmountable hurdle because in this case we have illegal aliens using counterfeit green cards, and of course the language barrier. We borrowed the one Baldwin County deputy who is fluent in Spanish to assist in this case.”

“We do have information regarding suspects that we’re trying to ferret out, but those individuals are located a long way from Putnam County.”

Sills said it is surprising to him that in light of the ongoing public debate over illegal immigration this criminal activity can be so widespread but remain unknown to the public.

“One of the things we in law enforcement have known for years and the public is just starting to discover as they become aware of what’s going on, (federal law enforcement) will do nothing. These people are violating federal law just by being here. Some of them come on visas, but when it expires there’s no follow up.

“A substantial number of our outstanding arrest warrants are for Hispanics who have been arrested for a myriad of violations and they either never appeared in court or absconded from probation.”

Sills noted that his office recently arrested a man for DUI and through fingerprinting discovered they had arrested the same individual four other times with four different fictitious names and the sheriff’s office was holding four outstanding warrants for him. Two were bench warrants and two were probation warrants – all in different names.

“If convicted of a felony, Immigration will deport them, but shortly after they’re deported they’re back in the country again.

“If Putnam County has this many fugitives that are most likely illegal aliens, can you imagine the numbers in other parts of the nation that have a higher concentration of Hispanic immigrants?”

How many people were cashing these checks?

IIRC, Sills told me they had 83 different names but didn't know yet if there were actually 83 different individuals.

In addition to just the regular crowd (and remember, Horton has different divisions so there could have been some of those folks already off work and at the bank), you had 83 Hispanics moving from one teller to the next cashing checks.

I'm sure you've seen how crazy it gets on Horton paydays. It was hard for the tellers to keep track of who was doing what. Clearly some of them cashed more than one check, but not at the same teller.

Also, Sills said to me (though I'm sure he didn't tell the newspaper!) that it was a case of "all Mexicans look alike" and the tellers didn't realize they were seeing the same faces coming through the bank over and over again. LOL!

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