NEWPORT — Newport police have arrested a Burlington man on multiple charges after he allegedly passed forged checks totaling more than $10,000.
James Jeffries, 40, was arrested and charged with false pretenses and tokens, forgery/counterfeit, grand larceny, uttering a forged instrument, and counterfeiting paper money.
Newport Police were dispatched to Community National Bank on Monday afternoon for a report of a man at the counter attempting to cash what bank staff believed to be a forged check.
Police say Jeffries, who does not live near Newport, had attempted to cash a check for a company from Berlin.
Police also learned that the bank called the company named on the check, and representatives there indicated they did not know him and had not written a check to him.
A short time later, police transported Jeffries to the police station in order to continue their investigation.
Police say he provided varying accounts of how he came into possession of the check.
Officers also determined that other checks had been cashed in other jurisdictions, totaling $10,854.
Following a search prior to his being taken into custody, officers located a counterfeit $100 bill.
Throughout the investigation, Jeffries allegedly indicated he’d been driven to Community National Bank and other banks by two individuals he did not know and could not contact.
He was placed under arrest and was held pending arraignment, which was scheduled for today.
