Thread: Sentences handed down-fake payroll checks

Sentences handed down for fake payroll checks
Mary Jo Denton
Herald-Citizen Staff

COOKEVILLE -- Eight Hispanic men arrested last month with a batch of fake payroll checks, fake ID's, and a large wad of cash went to court this week, and four have now been released from the Putnam jail.
All eight are in the United States illegally, but federal immigration authorities are currently planning to deport only three of the eight, while one is to be turned over to authorities in Illinois, where he is wanted on another charge.

The eight men were arrested by Cookeville Police on April 7 after thousands of dollars in fake Perdue Farms payroll checks had been cashed at businesses in Monterey and Cookeville.

The eight were charged with "criminal simulation forgery," and went to General Sessions Court on Wednesday, where court-appointed attorneys announced the details of plea arrangements which had been worked out.

The eight, who had been held in the Putnam jail since their arrest, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of "attempted criminal simulation," in exchange for sentences of 11 months and 29 days in jail, all of it suspended except 40 days, about the same amount of time they have already been in jail.

They were also ordered to make restitution of $10,000, and it was understood that they were to be turned over to federal authorities for possible deportation, court clerks said.

As of this morning, four of the eight had been released from jail because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told Putnam jail officials they would not move to deport those four.

Three of the eight were ordered held for deportation, and one was still being held this morning awaiting extradition to Illinois.

The three who will be deported are Joaquin Doriga, 26, Victor Avila, 23, and Jose Chavez, 23.

The one awaiting extradition is Hector Zabala, 27.

The four released are Demertio Mejia DeDios, 31, Samuel Fuez, 23, Javier Cruz Lopez, 29, and Anthony Perrara Walker, 30.

Police officials here were uncertain of the real identities of the eight, and more than one name for some of the eight appears on jail records.

The $6,000 confiscated at the time of the arrests will be distributed to the merchants who lost money by cashing the counterfeit checks.

Published May 19, 2006 11:23 AM CDT

http://www.herald-citizen.com/NF/omf.wn ... story.html?[rkey=0040168+[cr=gdn

Aside from the obvious insanity of just letting half of them go - at a loss for words.

What is "criminal simulation forgery"

The $6,000 confiscated at the time of the arrests will be distributed to the merchants who lost money by cashing the counterfeit checks.

Why are merchants cashing payroll checks? They know better then to be cashing this type of check. Criminals often counterfeit payroll checks and then try to pass them off at merchants rather then cashing them at a bank. These merchants know that this is suspicious activity and yet cash them anyway. Criminals on both sides of the counter.
Businesses write off these bad check loses and the US taxpayer ends up with the bill. Business continues as usual.
Want to guess who the largest group of political donors are? Businesses.