Third time was not the charm for forgery thieves

A trio of crooks was nabbed for conspiracy and a slew of other offenses Tuesday, November 20, after cashing a series of checks using a deceased man’s name. On November 16, a man entered California Bank & Trust at 102 Yale Ave. and opened an account with 2 checks signed with the deceased man’s signature.

On November 19, the man came into the bank with another individual, who cashed another fraudulent check in the same account. A day later, the 2 individuals came back with a third, a woman who attempted to withdraw money from the fraudulent account. By this time bank employees knew of the fraudulent check.

Instead of leaving the money with cash, the trio left the bank in handcuffs. Carlos Vega, 51 and Robert Martinez, 48 of Pomona and Joanna Regan, 23, of Claremont, were arrested with forgery and possession of stolen property and possession of fictitious checks among reasons for their arrest. In a search of each of their homes, police found additional fraudulent checks, according to Lt. Vander Veen.

See more Claremont police blotter news in our next edition.