The Region - News from Feb. 9, 1986

Two San Diego men and two men from Tucson were arraigned in Inglewood Municipal Court after spelling mistakes tripped up an alleged attempt to steal $225,000 worth of computer equipment in exchange for phony certified checks, authorities said. The checks used in the alleged scheme read “certifed” instead of “certified,” “signture” instead of “signature,” and somehow found room for two “u’s” in “January,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Howard. The poor spelling on a $50,000 check caught the eye of bank personnel, and police were contacted, breaking up an alleged scheme to steal IBM personal computers and memory chips from five companies, authorities said.