LULING – St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne reported that the St. Charles Parish Sheriffs Office is investigating several forgery cases in the Luling area. It appears that someone may have removed bill payments out of residents’ mailboxes and then altered the “pay to the order of” section and dollar amount of the personal checks before cashing them.
Unsuspecting victims are discovering the fraud when receiving their bank statements and then contacting their bank.
The Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of U.S. Postal inspectors is investigating these incidents. The locations from which checks have been removed from mailboxes include Barton Avenue, Davis Drive/ Primrose, Lakewood/Cottage Drive, St. John and Apple Court. The Sheriff’s Office is asking that anyone who may have information concerning these thefts to contact Detective Joseph Dewhirst at 985-783-1135. Furthermore, anyone who might have home video surveillance cameras with a view of their mailbox or street should also contact the Sheriffs Office.
In the meantime, the sheriff has suggested that residents mail their bills at the post office rather than placing them in their home mailbox for pick up.