Police seek man suspected in teen check-cashing scam

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, January 26, 2005

LYNNWOOD – Police are asking for the public’s help in finding a man they suspect may be connected to a check-cashing scam targeting teenagers.

William Bruce Jones

Lynnwood detectives are looking for William Bruce Jones, 19. Officers suspect he is one of a group of young men meeting teens at Alderwood mall and persuading them to cash checks that are stolen or counterfeit, Lynnwood detective Doug Teachworth said Wednesday. At least five cases have been reported in Lynnwood involving $6,000 worth of checks.

The scammers drove with the teens to their banks, Teachworth said. The teens turned over the cash for a cut of the proceeds, and the banks later discovered the checks were stolen or fake, he said. The same scam has been reported at malls in Bellevue.

Jones is 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighs 165 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information about the scam is asked to call Lynnwood police at 425-775-1976.