by Marcus Washington
SMYRNA, Tenn. - A crook got away with hundreds of dollars from a local store, but it wasn't an armed robbery. Instead of a gun the thief used a fake check to get what he wanted.
At Big Charlie's Market in Smyrna, it's the place where just about everyone knows the owners.
"He walks in and says, 'hey Mr. Charlie', which everybody calls him Mr. Charlie because it being Big Charlie's," said Myra Robertson
That friendly gesture is what Robertson and her brother Jack are accustomed to from customers.
Robertson says the calm and collected man asked to cash his check from the Rutherford County Landfill.
The only problem here the check, the account numbers, the name; all fake.
Robertson said, "I took the check and looked at it. I am not used to a check being typed and a stamped signature, so I turned around and asked Jack and he said, 'well, with it being from the county it should be a good check."
"Rutherford County landfill does not have an account at all and it's not the address. They have just picked out something that looks authentic. They have done a good job of making it look authentic, but it's just fictitious," said Rutherford County Trustee Teb Batey.
He says they have been informed this scam has happened to at least three small mom and pop businesses in the past month.
Even though the check may look authentic, the man behind it is not.
"Oh it hurts big, because you have to take that out of your checking, then you have to work extra hard to make that profit back," said Robertson who says the store is a family owned business.
Rutherford County sheriff investigators are looking for the crook praying on the kindness of others.
Investigators say three stores cashed the fraudulent checks: One in Rutherford County and two in Williamson County.
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