South Carolina man arrested while attempting to cash stolen check, allegedly working for major fraud ring

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sherwin Lacsina Zarraga, 44, of Manning, South Carolina, was arrested yesterday and charged with attempted grand larceny, participating in a conspiracy to defraud and criminal use of another's identification after allegedly attempting to use a fake driver's license to cash a check stolen from an Air Force veteran living in Virginia.

Yesterday at approximately 3 p.m., a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to Amscot (3654 SW Archer Road) where Zarraga allegedly attempted to cash a U.S. Treasury check for $4,524.99 made out to a Virginia man. Zarraga allegedly presented a fake Virginia driver's license that had the victim's name and address on it, but contained a photograph of Zarraga.

The cashier reportedly noticed that the driver's license was invalid and called 911. He gave a description of the man who tried to cash the check and said he was still in the store.

When the officer arrived, Zarraga was reportedly still standing at the counter waiting for the check to clear, and she was holding it.

The officer found the victim's wife's phone number and learned that her husband's check was supposed to arrive in August and they had been trying to figure out why it hadn't arrived. She said she assumed the check had been stolen from her mailbox and said she didn't recognize Zarraga.

After the Miranda disclosure, Zarraga allegedly said he had previously “worked” for a man who ran a fraud ring. He said he did not “work” for the man for long because he later found a job. But when he recently lost his job, he reached out to the man again. He said he had done six “jobs” in the past few weeks where he cashed checks or withdrew money from victims' bank accounts.

Zarraga reportedly said that on his first “job,” he was instructed to meet a man at a specific location. He was told that the man would get in his car and drive with him to a bank or check cashing location and then wait in the car while Zarraga went inside to cash a check. He was instructed to leave his keys in the car and was told that if the police showed up, the man would leave with his car. When he returned to the car, he reportedly gave the man back the fake identification documents.

Zarraga allegedly said he had cashed a check in Savannah two days earlier, but could not remember which bank the check was cashed at or who it was made out to. He described another “operation” in which he and a man went to a bank in Myrtle Beach and attempted to cash a $3,500 check made out to a man from Boynton Beach. He said he was probably unsuccessful, but the officer learned the check had been cashed, and she reported that Zarraga had the victim's driver's license and Mastercard on him when he was arrested.

Zarraga reportedly said he was promised 10 to 15 percent of the check value for his “job” yesterday and that he got the check and driver's license from a man he met in Jacksonville.

Zarraga reportedly had a third victim's driver's license and credit card at the time of his arrest. However, the officer was unable to make contact with the third victim at the time of report.

The officer reported that Zarraga’s car was stolen during the incident, “presumably when he saw [the] Patrol car arrives on scene.”

Zarraga's criminal record is currently unknown; Judge Jonathan Ramsey set bail at $30,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are from the arrest report and/or court records and are merely allegations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.