This past Thursday two Orange County men were arrested on suspicion of fabricating checks. The men allegedly purchased items at home improvement stores and later resold the merchandise for case. Police said, David Arthur Larousse, 45, of Anaheim and Earl Leroy Gorman, 39, of Santa Ana were arrested after a search of their homes by Los Alamitos Police and Buena Park Police detectives revealed equipment capable of producing counterfeit checks.
Capt. Bruce McAlpine stated that officials began investigating the matter after several retailers reported the crime. Those retailers include: Home Depot, Office Depot, and Ganahl Lumber. Authorities believe that both Larousse and Gorman created the checks using names of existing businesses; the total worth of items bought by fabricated checks is estimated to be $30,000. Although McAlpine notes that the, “number could go up because they are still investigating these cases.”
Both Larousse and Gorman have been arrested on suspicion of burglary, forgery, and narcotics possession. Since police said that both suspects would take the goods that they paid with fake checks to local shops and pawn them for cash. Additionally, after having served a search warrant and searching their home, investigators found about 15 grams of methamphetamine and evidence of paperwork used to steal identities. Police have managed to recover and return $3,500 of Home Depot’s property.
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