Officials with the Spring Hill Police Department have arrested two homeless men from Chattanooga believed to be involved in a check fraud ring.
Authorities said Lamar McCain and Vincent Scott were taken into custody and charged with criminal simulation and attempt to commit theft under $1,000.
According to an investigation, the two attempted to cash stolen checks at Regions Bank in Spring Hill and First Farmers and Merchants Bank in Williamson County.
Reports stated a clerk recognized one of the suspects from a previous visit and contacted police with the vehicle description.
Police said the homeless men have been suspected of being part of a check fraud ring that had been ongoing for multiple weeks.
It has been described as a layered criminal organization.
"A group of people go into a big city like Nashville or Chattanooga and drive by the homeless shelter and recruit them," Spring Hill Detective Michael Foster told NewsChannel 5. "They'll go to a neighborhood just to open mailboxes and find a check. They'll use some type of liquid or process to wash the check off and replace the check with the homeless person's name based off their ID."
A Spring Hill detective said the ring targeted mailboxes in Williamson and Maury counties.
The suspects’ vehicle was pulled over in Spring Hill, and the two homeless men were arrested.
A couple in the vehicle from Atlanta were believed by police to be involved, possibly as the ring leaders; however, officials said that could not be proven. The husband and wife were not taken into custody.
"Usually they come in from out of state and just pick a city. That way people aren't familiar with them," Detective Foster added.
Police said it was unknown how many victims there were in this case.
