Police arrested an El Paso woman suspected of creating and passing at least one forged check at a Las Cruces bank.
Graciela Jimenez, 38, of the 600 block of Florence Street in El Paso, Texas, is charged with one fourth-degree felony count of forgery. She also faces a misdemeanor count of possession of an altered, forged, or fictitious driver’s license and one count of concealing her identity.
On Tuesday, Dec. 15, Las Cruces police were dispatched to the report of a woman attempting to pass a forged check at First New Mexico Bank at 3000 E. Lohman Ave. The driver of a white Chevrolet Impala in a drive-thru lane was attempting to cash a company check in the amount of $690. The driver, later identified as Jimenez, provided the bank with a temporary driver permit under a different name but one that matched the name on the check.
As a Las Cruces police officer arrived at the bank, Jimenez drove off. When the officer initiated a traffic stop, Jimenez initially identified herself using another name.
Investigators learned that First New Mexico Bank was on alert for forged checks drawn from a private company. Investigators learned that since Nov. 24, a First New Mexico Bank branch in Anthony, N.M., had cashed eight checks forged on the same company. The checks were cashed under different names and totaled more than $5,000.
Las Cruces police investigators learned Jimenez was responsible for creating the forged checks using a laptop computer. She then either cashed the checks herself, using temporary fictitious driver permits or by using other names with matching fictitious identities. Investigators believe Jimenez may have had relatives or friends cash some of the forged checks.
Jimenez was arrested and booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center where she is initially being held without bond.