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Florida man accused of trying to cash forged check felt he was doing something ‘shady and ‘wrong’: HCSO

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Published  April 3, 2025 5:49pm EDT
Hernando County
FOX 13 News

The Brief

    • A Florida man is accused of trying to cash a fraudulent check in Hernando County.
    • Deputies said the check belonged to someone in Georgia who just opened a new checking account and hadn’t received checks yet.
    • According to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, additional arrests are pending further investigation.

SPRING HILL, Fla. - A Florida man is accused of trying to cash a fraudulent check in Hernando County and more suspects may be facing charges.  

The backstory:

Hernando County deputies say they went to the Cadence Bank located at 14211 Powell Road shortly after 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday because Javier Martinez was trying to cash a fraudulent check. 

According to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, a teller at the bank contacted the owner of the checking account, who lives in Georgia. The account owner said that it was a new checking account and had yet to receive any checks in the mail.

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Upon arriving at the bank, deputies arrested Martinez. 

Dig deeper:

While investigating, deputies said the bank discovered additional fraudulent checks from the victim's account were cashed or attempted to be cashed at other bank branches in other counties. 

These checks were cashed by unknown suspects other than Martinez, according to HCSO.

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According to detectives, Martinez was dropped off near the bank by an unknown suspect he knows as "Juan's girlfriend" from Clewiston. 

Javier Martinez mugshot courtesy of the Hernando County Sheriff's Office.

Javier Martinez mugshot courtesy of the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. 

Martinez told detectives the female was driving a white Toyota sedan. Martinez further advised that by attempting to cash the check, he felt he was doing something "shady and wrong."

Deputies said Martinez told them that he was to be paid a percentage of the check in exchange for cashing the check.

Martinez was arrested on one count of uttering a forged check.

What's next:

According to HCSO, additional arrests are pending further investigation. 

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Hernando County Crime Stoppers at 1-866-990-8477 or **TIPS from a cell phone. Tipsters will remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.

The Source: This story was written with information provided by the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. 

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