Police Arrest Suspect in Alleged Forgery Scam

Ventura police have arrested a man who allegedly tried to pass a stolen check at a bank.

The arrest Friday of Dennis Carl James brings to four the number of people booked into County Jail in an alleged forgery and check-stealing scam that has been operating for two months throughout the city, said Ventura Police Sgt. John Garner.

According to Garner, the suspects are part of one or more loosely knit groups that have been stealing checks from private mailboxes.

Thieves have bleached out the names of the payees and written in a fictitious name or the name matching a stolen identification card, and then have tried to cash the checks at local banks, Garner said.

James, 33, was arrested at 11:05 a.m. at American Commercial Bank at 300 S. Mills Road after an employee called police, Garner said.

The investigation led to a room at a Main Street motel, where officers found dozens of mortgage, property tax and utility payment checks stolen from numerous victims, authorities said.

On Saturday, James was being held in lieu of $5,000 bail on suspicion of forgery.

Garner warned residents to be wary of strangers loitering near private mailboxes. If outgoing checks must be placed in a private mailbox, he said, don’t leave the items unattended.