A counterfeit check-cashing ring operating in Coweta County has been busted by investigators from the Senoia Police Department and the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office.
Brittney Skye Calhoun, 33, of Newnan, and 29-year-old Jennifer Anne Cleveland, of LaGrange, were charged with one count each of third degree forgery, according to Senoia Detective Jason Ercole.
Jeremy Michael Ashline, 36, of Newnan, was charged with multiple counts relating to the seizure of 13 counterfeit checks found at his residence.
The investigation was initiated when Crooks Marketplace in Senoia notified Ercole that nearly $8,000 in counterfeit checks had been presented for cashing during the month of April. Ercole discovered that the checks were purported to be from law firms in Newnan and Atlanta, made payable to the suspects in these cases.
Cleveland and Calhoun were subsequently arrested after warrants were obtained, Ercole said.
Ercole said evidence gathered from those arrests led detectives to seeking and obtaining a search warrant for Ashline’s Newnan home on Glover Circle where the checks were believed to be distributed. Ercole said detectives executed the search warrant on May 18 and found Ashline to be in possession of 13 counterfeit checks totaling more than $11,000.
These checks were purported to be from Lowes Home Improvement, Enterprise Leasing Company and Humana, said Ercole.
Ercole said the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected in these cases.
Ercole advised financial institutions and check-cashing facilities to be extra vigilant when checks are presented for cashing and to be on the lookout for fake identification.
Senoia Police Chief Jason Edens said he was very pleased with the assistance that the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office provided to the Senoia Police Department in cracking this case.
