Eureka Police arrested a 40-year-old St. Louis man who investigators believed was involved in a fake check-cashing scheme. Investigators believe the man was working with a 29-year-old Decatur, Ga., woman and another man, police reported.
Police were called at about 11:40 a.m. Aug. 29 to the First Community Credit Union inside the Walmart store, 131 Eureka Towne Center Drive. A bank employee said the man had attempted to cash a suspicious check for $6,381, the report said.
The man was talking on a cell phone while sitting with the bank manager when the officer arrived. After the man was told the bank would not accept the check, he turned to leave the office and the officer stopped him, according to the report.
The officer took the check from the man, and he learned the man was talking to a man who was 2023 Nissan Rogue, which had been rented by a woman in Georgia who drove him there.
The man told the officer the information on the check was correct, except for his address. The officer learned the man was on parole, and the two people in the SUV had picked him up in St. Louis and drove him to banks in Walmarts in Arnold and Kirkwood before coming to Eureka, according to the report.
The man also told the officer he was working for a construction company, and he had earned some of the money the check was made out for. He allegedly said a man in the SUV had given him the check to cash, the report.
The man was arrested and taken to the Police Station, according to the report.
After being arrested, the man said the man in the SUV had given him $40 to open bank account at a different bank, so he would have two forms of identification when cashing checks, the report said.
The man allegedly told police after he cashed checks, he would bring the money to the man in the SUV. He said the man in the SUV would give him 10 percent of the checks he cashed, according to the report.
It was discovered that similar checks to the one the man was trying to cash in Eureka were cashed for $2,379 in Arnold and another for approximately $2,500 was cashed in Kirkwood. Investigators retrieved $500 from the man who was arrested, which is approximately 10 percent of the cashed checks.
Eureka Police learned the Rogue was seen in surveillance video at Walmarts in Arnold and Kirkwood. Investigators alerted area law enforcement departments to be on the look out for the SUV, which had Florida license plates, the report said.
At about 2:30 p.m., the Farmington Police located the Rogue. The Farmington Police also reported a similar fake check scheme was in progress at Walmart in Farmington, according to the report.
The man arrested by the Eureka Police was turned over to a parole officer, the report said.
As of Sept. 9, no charges have been issued for anyone suspected of being part of the check scheme, and Eureka Police are working with various area departments to investigate the scam before determining what charges to pursue, Capt. Michael Werges said.