CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office seized 116 personal and business checks, 76 credit/debit cards, cash, computers, smart phones, firearms and a specialized post office box key following an investigation into a fraud scheme that led them to Nashville.
During the execution of a search warrant on July 28, MCSO investigators along with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the US Postal Inspection Service confiscated the evidence and made an arrest, according to sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Mark Wojnarek.
NEWS ALERTS: To get free breaking news alerts on your phone, text the word NEWS to 77000.
The complaints started at the beginning on this year.
“We began to correlate reports from victims who reported mailing checks here in Montgomery County only to discover the check never arrived and money was debited from their banking account,” MCSO Investigator McKenzie Knotts said in a news release.
“It became clear criminal activity was afoot, and we began working with our investigative team to unravel an emerging pattern of criminal activity. This led us to developing the probable cause for the search warrant and the recovery of over $47,284.97 in stolen and altered bank checks.”
Investigators charged a Nashville man with multiple counts of forgery and theft. More arrests are expected.
“Breaking into mailboxes is just one of the many brazen acts thieves will go to, to accomplish financial harm to their victims,” Montgomery County Sheriff John Fuson said in the release. “Most of the time thieves think that we are not going to pursue their criminal activities due to jurisdictional issues that often arise. It’s a testament of success to the collaboration we have with our surrounding law enforcement agencies in the region and proof that we will pursue criminals where they hide.
“My investigators and everyone involved in this case were diligent in putting all the pieces together early on. This not only severely disrupted this criminal activity; it also prevented their activity from creating additional victims. We are proud to have made arrests in this case, and will continue to provide the resources to our investigators to find all those who were involved in this or any other criminal operation like it.”
Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact Investigator McKenzie Knotts at mbknotts@mcgtn.net or 931-648-0611, ext. 13404, or the Criminal Investigation and Intel Division at 931-648-0611, ext. 13449.