Officers with the Cottonwood Police Department arrested suspects Francisco Hernandez and Raul Rodriguez in a county-wide check fraud operation. On Monday, officers were dispatched to a financial institution for a report of a person passing forged checks and contacted the suspect believed to be involved. Additional officers observed a suspicious vehicle leaving the parking lot that they believed contained an additional suspect. After conducting a traffic stop, they determined the individual was participating in the scheme.
The investigation led to the arrest of both suspects and revealed they were involved in additional incidents in both Cottonwood and surrounding areas. The Cottonwood Police Department worked with the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office to discover the pair had been stealing mail from USPS collection boxes, searching for checks, and altering the information before cashing them.
Detectives learned the California duo’s offenses reached across northern Arizona and possibly into other states. Currently, 15 victims involved in incidents in Flagstaff, Sedona, Rimrock, Camp Verde, Cornville, Prescott Valley, and Cottonwood have been identified, with losses totaling over $15,000. Both men were booked on charges of fraud schemes, multiple counts of theft, and forgery.