Stolen check in Lake Forest Park leads to elaborate counterfeit scheme



UPDATE: Lake Forest Park Police say your tips to Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound have identified the woman pushing the cart who passed a fake check at Costco in Everett on Feb. 17th. Detectives are continuing to investigate for possible charges. Her name is not being released at this time.

The other two women have been interviewed and cleared of any wrongdoing.  No update yet on the 4th woman seen depositing a stolen check into an ATM.

WANTED IN LAKE FOREST PARK --
Detectives say checks getting stolen from a mailbox in Lake Forest Park led to a pretty elaborate counterfeit scheme and helping identify the four people above could help bust it.

"The person who stole the check changed the name on the line of who it's paid to and then deposited the check into a personal account on a ATM, we have a photograph of that person and then the victim's account number and routing number were placed upon a counterfeit check and that was passed at a local Costco, caught in their surveillance video were three females. It's quite possible that only one of them are the suspect and the other two were just with that individual and know nothing about it, but we'd like to identify all three in that case and speak with them,” said Lake Forest Park Police Det. Tony Matthews.

Detectives say the woman pushing the shopping cart is the one who passed the fake check at the Costco in Everett on February 17th.

If you know who she is, the two women behind her, or the woman who deposited the stolen check at a bank ATM, use the P3 Tips App on your smart phone to submit the information to Crime Stoppers, or call the hot line at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477). You'll get a cash reward for yourself if your tip helps lead to any arrests in the case.