Couple Arrested in Check-Writing Scheme

Posing as an attorney and paralegal, an Inglewood couple allegedly stole more than $100,000 worth of computers, fur coats and Rolex watches from individuals throughout Southern California by paying for the items with counterfeit checks, police said.

Elisha Landrum, 39, and Jacquelyn Wilson, 33, were arrested Thursday when police served a search warrant at their Inglewood home. Landrum and Wilson each were being held Friday in lieu of $500,000 bail on suspicion of forgery, grand theft and possession of stolen property.

Landrum was also arrested for possessing a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun while on parole.

Ventura County Sheriff’s Detective Mike Colon, who began working on the case in December after a Camarillo man fell victim, said many people were fooled.

Posing as a Van Nuys attorney, Landrum would call individuals who had advertised expensive items for sale in classified ads and negotiate a deal.

Later, Wilson, posing as a paralegal, would pick it up, paying with a counterfeit cashier’s check.

Colon said police, who are searching for accomplices, have discovered 30 to 40 victims in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties in addition to Paul Magarelli of Camarillo, who in December placed a classified ad for a $10,000 computer system. He agreed to sell it for $3,900 and accepted a counterfeit check from a woman who fit Wilson’s description.

South Pasadena Sgt. Bill Courtice, who worked on the case with Colon, said Wilson and Landrum did not haggle much over prices.

“Price is no object as long as you’re writing a bad check,” he said.