OCPD Undercover Units Bust Counterfeit Check Ring, Arrest Seven Suspects

Oklahoma City police went undercover to bust a large counterfeit check ring. The group was operating out of a home in southwest Oklahoma City.

The investigation started last month when one of the suspects passed a fake check at a local bank.

The person at the center of the investigation is 33-year-old Carlos Burris. Employees at a local bank knew something was off with a check Burris cashed.

“They noticed it was a very high-quality counterfeit check,” said Sgt. Gary Knight, Oklahoma City Police Department. “So they contacted our impact unit. That’s our undercover unit.”

Undercover investigators learned Burris, and several other people, were part of an illegal check ring.

“The people involved in this ring were printing counterfeit checks,” said Knight. “They were going to banks and cashing the checks or they were taking them to car dealerships and purchasing brand new cars.”

The investigation led police to the group's operation base, a home near Southwest 65th Street and South May Avenue. Undercover units set up surveillance on the home and recently closed in on several of the suspects.

“There was a vehicle that left the address in a newly purchased truck,” said Knight. “That truck was stopped. As it turns out, the truck was purchased with a counterfeit check.”

A short while later, Burris was seen driving a Cadillac.

“They stopped that car a short time later, only to find that car had also been purchased with a counterfeit check,” said Knight.

A search warrant for the home led to several more arrests and evidence used in the fake check operation.

“They recovered a computer (and) a printer that was there they were making the checks with,” said Knight. “Three people were arrested that day after the search warrant was served.”

Police said Burris bought four cars using fake checks. When he was arrested, officers found a check written for $44,000 they say Burris was going to use to buy another car.

During the search warrant, police seized more counterfeit checks, check stock, five pistols, a pound of marijuana and 14 grams of methamphetamine.