FBI seeking public's help in solving interstate bank fraud ring

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The FBI is asking for the public's help in breaking up a bank fraud scheme in which an organized ring has been breaking into businesses and stealing checks, FBI special agent Richard A. Marquise said Monday.

Marquise said the burglaries often involve only checks found in the back of register drawers and that stolen checks have been passed at banks and grocery stores in southern Oklahoma, Texas and other states.

The losses to banks and other businesses are estimated at about $100,000 since the alleged ring began in April, Marquise said.

He said suspects may visit the business prior to a robbery posing as job applicants. He said signatures on checks are forged to look like real ones.

The suspects in the case have been described as Hispanic males and they use false identification to cash the checks, Marquise said.

He said the names on the payee portion of the checks are sometimes in the incorrect order and that the checks are usually cashed on a Friday or Saturday to make them appear as legitimate payroll checks.

He said anyone with information about the crimes should contact the FBI.