Sheriff seeking assistance in forgery cases

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 11, 2013

St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne reported that the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office is investigating several forgery cases in the Luling area.
It appears that someone may have removed bill payments out of resident’s 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 has been provided with bank photos of a person of interest in the case. The Sheriff’s Office is asking that anyone who may have information concerning these thefts  or the identity of this subject 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 Sheriff’s Office. In the meantime, the sheriff has suggested that residents may want to mail their bills at the post office rather than placing it in their home mailbox for pick up.