VENTURA : 4 Local Residents Arrested in Reno

Police in Reno have arrested four Ventura men on suspicion of trying to cash counterfeit checks at a Reno bank, authorities said.

Ngoc Nguyen, 24, Muoi Nguyen, 28, Ai Nguyen, 30, and Huong Nguyen, 21, were caught Wednesday with $54,443 in fake payroll checks from a Reno business, said Sgt. Doug Evans of the Reno Police Department’s fraud unit.

The scam was initiated in Southern California and may have been carried out in several U. S. cities, Evans said.

Police in Reno began following the men shortly after they arrived. The Secret Service received a tip in Los Angeles that indicated that the four men would be coming to Reno in a 1993 Toyota Camry, police said.

“We . . . spotted the car at a local hotel, then we just waited,” Evans said.

Police said they received warrants and trailed the men until they successfully cashed one of the checks for $480 at a Reno branch of First Interstate Bank.

“They most certainly would have used them all if we had not located them,” Evans said. “We’re happy with how it worked out.”

The four men, who gave Ventura addresses, were booked on several counts of possession of a forged instrument and are being held in Reno on bails ranging from $168,750 to $445,500.