Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Sheriff Warns About Bogus Payroll Checks

Area business people should be on the lookout for three black women who are passing counterfeit Wal-Mart payroll checks.

According to Nevada County Sheriff Steve Otwell, these checks are fraudulent and appear to be made either by a computer or copy machine.

The trio responsible for passing these checks is wanted in other counties.

Those passing the bad checks have been identified as Alez Razille Tousaint, 41, of Texarkana; Keyaunga Cantrice Hamilton, Tousaint's daughter, 17, of Texarkana; and Tracy Michele Lee, 26, of Louisiana.

According to Otwell, these three present their identification when cashing the fake checks.

Should they come to Nevada County and try to cash the checks, Otwell said, the person involved should try to stall them, get word to their manager and contact the Nevada County Sheriff's Office.

But, should the suspects leave before officers arrive, the clerk should attempt to get a license number, description of the vehicle being driven and direction they are traveling.

The checks, Otwell said, have turned up in neighboring counties already, starting in Howard County at Nashville.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

Otwell is urging county residents to be aware of what's going on in their neighborhoods.

He said with neighbors watching out for one another it can help minimize the chances of break-ins and burglaries.

For those citizens who will be away from their home for any period of time, they should let their neighbors know where they are going and when they will return, also giving this information to a relative as well as the NCSO.

This way, officers can be aware of the residence being vacant and know who should and shouldn't be there while doing property checks when out on patrol.