Three Arrested After Alleged Check Forgery Scheme at Paragould Bank

PARAGOULD, Ark. — Three defendants were arrested March 25 after police responded to a reported forgery in progress at a Paragould bank and allegedly found evidence tied to fraudulent checks cashed earlier that morning in Jonesboro.

Hugo Ayrot-Quintero, 38, Wilber Montiel-Anez, 31, and Jose Teran-Moncayo, 28, each listed as from Memphis, were arrested on charges of engaging in a criminal enterprise, a Class B felony; forgery, a Class C felony; and misdemeanor charges. Bail was set at $250,000 cash or surety for each defendant. An ICE hold was also placed on all three suspects.

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According to the probable cause affidavits, officers responded March 25 to a local bank regarding a reported forgery that was ongoing.

The affidavits state officers found two co-defendants in a vehicle in the parking lot while a third was inside the bank allegedly attempting to cash a fraudulent check owned by one of the co-defendants.

According to the affidavits, officers obtained consent to search the vehicle. Investigators said they found two bank money sleeves containing more than $4,000 in cash each, lists of bank addresses in two states, transaction dates and transaction totals, two damaged checks, multiple bank receipts, and multiple debit cards that did not belong to the defendants.

After speaking with bank employees, officers determined the cash found came from two fraudulent checks that had been successfully cashed in Jonesboro earlier that morning, according to the affidavits.

A bank fraud department employee also told officers that multiple checks of the same type have been cashed at multiple branches in Central Arkansas over the past couple of months, the affidavits state.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.