2 Men Arrested on Suspicion of Forging Checks

VENTURA —  A traffic stop has led to the arrest of two Ventura men suspected of stealing dozens of checks and pre-approved credit card applications as well as manufacturing fraudulent identification cards, police said Tuesday.

Most of the stolen items were lifted from residential mailboxes in Oxnard, Ventura, Camarillo and Somis, authorities said.

“This is why we tell people they have to be diligent about checking their mail,” said Det. Daniel Place, with the Sheriff’s Department’s major fraud unit. “If your mail comes at 3 o’clock, pick it up by 3:05.”

Authorities suspect Mark Heurung, 33, and Michael Andriese, 36, chemically washed countless checks--erasing payees’ names and filling in their own.

Both men were arrested and booked on suspicion of several felony charges, including forgery and manufacturing fraudulent identification cards.

Deputies uncovered the scam Nov. 25 after authorities stopped several cars leaving a home in the 2200 block of Grand Avenue. Inside the vehicles, deputies found large quantities of methamphetamine and a number of stolen checks.

Hours later, sheriff’s investigators obtained a search warrant and raided the Grand Avenue home, where Heurung and Andriese lived.

Officers said they found several fake California driver’s licenses and fraudulent government identification cards. Also scattered about the residence were stolen checks and piles of pre-approved credit card applications, authorities said.

Investigators contacted account holders to notify them that their checks had been recovered at the Grand Avenue home. All said the checks were mailed out as bill payments, Place said.

Place said mail thefts are common throughout the year but increase in December, when credit card companies, in search of customers doing extra Christmas shopping, send out many pre-approved applications.

“Crooks know that,” Place said. “And it states right on the envelope that you’re pre-approved. All they have to do is fill it out, and guess who gets the card? It won’t be you.”

Personal checks made out to companies for bill payments are another favorite target of thieves, who chemically wash them before filling in their own names.

“A lot of times, what these guys will do is replace the name, but keep it for the same amount,” Place said. “That makes it real hard to even notice what’s happened. You get your statement, you see the amount cashed, but you don’t know who got the money. It’s not until a company calls you saying, ‘Where’s the check?’ Then you call the bank and ask they send you the canceled check and that’s when you find out.”

Authorities say there are several steps residents can take to prevent mail theft: Never use an unlocked residential mailbox to send out mail; buy a lockable mailbox; promptly pick up incoming mail; write checks with roller-ball pens, felt-tip pens, or fountain pens--the ink from such pens is harder to erase; when using a blue U.S. Postal Service collection box, deposit the mail just before it is picked up.

Also seized from the home was computer equipment authorities believe was used to produce the fake identification cards. Place said high-tech equipment, readily available at computer stores, has made reproducing such documents easy for criminals.

“It just takes a good color scanner,” Place said, “and they can scan in an original document. Once it’s in the computer, they can use software to change the information on the card and digitally change the photo. That’s how identity theft occurs. Computers have made it much easier to do.”

Heurung and Andriese were released on bond and will be arraigned on the charges Friday.

Authorities also arrested four others on drug charges in connection with the methamphetamine recovered in the Nov. 25 traffic stop. Charles Michael Ornelas, 40, of Port Hueneme; David Zarate, 23, of Oxnard; Aja Rail, 20, of Ventura; and Carrie Lipka, 21, of Ventura were booked on charges including possession of a controlled substance, possession of narcotics for sale and being under the influence of an illegal drug.