Authorities on Lookout for Bogus City Payroll Checks

Authorities are on the lookout for fake Torrance city payroll checks after two were cashed at a San Pedro liquor store.

“If they went to the trouble of making up a check that looks authentic, they wouldn’t have made just a few,” Torrance Treasurer Thomas C. Rupert said. Police Detective Jeff Harris said he anticipates that more checks will surface.

Two men cashed the checks for $276 and $278 Saturday at Scheffler Liquor, 230 S. Gaffey St. But owner Phillip No said he rejected a third check a few hours later because the paper felt too thick.

The fake checks are printed with fictitious names for the Torrance mayor, clerk and treasurer. They also bear a logo resembling an upside-down Mercedes-Benz symbol, topped with the word “Opportunity”--a logo that Rupert said the city has never used.