Three women arrested for stealing, then cashing stolen checks in Tulsa

Tulsa's fraud squad says the arrest of three women this week should put a dent in the city's stolen check fraud. <br/><br/>Tulsa Police arrested Mary Hess[pictured left] who tried to cash a stolen

Friday, December 3rd 2004, 6:28 am

By: News On 6

Tulsa's fraud squad says the arrest of three women this week should put a dent in the city's stolen check fraud.

Tulsa Police arrested Mary Hess[pictured left] who tried to cash a stolen check at an east Tulsa bank. Hess told them she worked for Engala Morris, a woman who was already facing federal charges for counterfeit money. Police say Engala stole the checks out of mailboxes, then a third partner, Billie Gordon[pictured right], filled them out, and Mary Hess cashed them.

The women made $9,000 in two days.

But they made the mistake of using the same bank over and over. Sgt Tony Celino, Tulsa Fraud Unit: "BOK had received several of these checks, nine of them in the past week so they had a fraud alert out and the teller called police immediately."

Tulsa Police say the women recruited their son, nephew and granddaughter as accomplices. They were all arrested, and then released to other family members.