TEMPLE, Texas — The Temple Police Department is investigating after becoming aware of a series of forgery incidents involving fake cashier's checks. At this time, four victims have come forward.
One of the victims of the scheme is Bell County Motoworks. The shop's General Manager, Eric Hermanson, said he is angry and shocked about how they fell victim.
"As long as I've been doing this, I've never seen this, I've never encountered this," Hermanson said. "I've heard of scams going around with checks and so forth, but I've never seen anything of this magnitude, and his demeanor, the way he did it, was very good."
Hermanson said a man, that 6 News is choosing not to identify at this time since he hasn't been charged, came into Bell County Motoworks on Saturday, Oct. 12. He worked out a deal with staff to purchase a Harley Davidson Street Glide Special for $23,000. Hermanson said he had some reservations about the deal at first, but then he was handed over a check that looked legitimate.
"He mentioned that he won a settlement from an accident and he had an accountant that handled his money, and he took the amount with him that he needed, went to the accountant, brought back a cashier's check," Hermanson explained. "All said and done, paperwork was done, put the tag on it and he left happy as can be."
The check had cleared, but then Bell County Motoworks received a call from another Temple business that stated that they had $23,000 missing and it was tied to a purchase from the motorcycle dealer.
Hermanson soon found out that the man had used a fraudulent check and had stolen banking information from a Temple business to make the purchase.
"This is mastermind," Hermanson added. "I'm a little more doubtful on accepting checks now after hours unless I know this person. I work hard for my money. I think everyone else should. I can't stand a thief. Absolutely cannot stand a thief."
Hermanson said since the motorcycle has been in the hands of the man who reportedly stole it, people have called the dealership to find out if the motorcycle is legit because they were trying to buy it from the man. Hermanson believes the man is trying to make quick cash.
"I would say anybody that's offering you a motorcycle or a car at a very discounted price with no title -- beware, it's fraud," Hermanson said.
Hermanson also found out that there are other dealerships in the area that have also been hit by the same type of scheme.
Temple Police could provide 6 News little information about the case since it is under investigation, but a spokesperson did provide some tips to avoid falling victim to check fraud.
- When cashing a check, it is recommended you call the bank to verify the information on the check is correct and if the bank is not available do not accept the check.
- If the check is valid, verify with the bank there are funds in the account amounting to or more than what is written on the check.
- Verify with the bank the purchaser has authorization to use the account, and only accept original forms of ID. Do not accept a copy of an ID.
6 News is aware of the name of the person who wrote the check to the motorcycle dealer. We were able to look into his past and learned this is not his first brush with the law.
This is a developing story. Stick with 6 News for more details as the investigation continues.