Banks in the Statesboro and Bulloch County area should be on the lookout for people trying to cash bad checks as part of a statewide fraudulent check cashing operation.
    Capt. Scott Brunson said the Criminal Investigations Division of the Statesboro Police Department is working with federal law enforcement agencies in an ongoing investigation. Brunson said a criminal organization is recruiting homeless individuals in or around the metro Atlanta area to pass the checks. The group pays them a predetermined amount of money to go into banking institutions around the state and cash fraudulent checks.
    Brunson said several local Statesboro banks were victimized recently by the scheme.
    “Some checks were passed here,” Brunson said. “They’ll just walk in like any customer and try to cash a check.”
    The person cashing the check will present what appears to be a valid check to the teller with proper identification. If the homeless individual is detained or arrested by law enforcement, the other offenders simply leave, Brunson said.
    “We are encouraging all local banking institutions to be aware of this scheme and take extra precaution when cashing checks,” he said.
    Brunson said almost all the ID’s, either a Georgia drivers license or state of Georgia ID, have a city of Atlanta address.
    “These fake IDs look completely valid,” Brunson said. “We ask tellers and other bank officials to be very cautious of city of Atlanta IDs.”
    If anyone has information regarding the investigation or if a bank would like for a member of the Statesboro Police to speak with their employees about the fraudulent check scheme, contact Brunson at  212-2301 or sbrunson@statesboroga.net.