Forgers spend student's money

Three forgers spent $1,100 from a student's bank account by using stolen checks taken sometime last month, University Police said yesterday. The student did not realize anything was wrong until this week, when he noticed his bank account balance was low, University Police Sergeant Ivan Kimble said. The student reported the incident to University Police Tuesday after contacting Melon Bank and discovering his balance was not a computer error. According to the police report, the student did not think his checks were missing. Kimble said the student said he believed his checks were in his room. Neither the student, nor the police know how the forgers obtained the checks. Kimble added that the checks used in the forgeries were designed for newly opened bank accounts and did not have a name or address printed on them. The forgers used three different names on the blank checks, Kimble said. He added that police believe up to seven checks were used in the forgeries. The suspects used the checks at local stores, but did not use them to receive cash from the bank, police said. An employee of Mellon Bank said that the student's money may or may not be reimbursed, depending on the "follow up" of the police case. Mellon Bank refused further comment on the case. Kimble said that the student has closed his account at the bank to prevent a further loss of funds. University Police do not have any suspects in the forgery case at the present time. In an unrelated incident, two students were caught fighting in the McNeil Building Wednesday, University Police said yesterday. Because the incident occured between two students, no formal charges were filed by the police department. The case was referred to the Judicial Inquiry Office, police said. The University Police also notified the Victim Support and Special Services department to help counsel the two students.