FRANKLIN COUNTY — Officials in Franklin County are warning local vendors to be on the lookout for counterfeit Franklin County payroll checks.

County Treasurer John Gulley says the manager of a Walmart store in the Chicago area contacted Gulley Tuesday regarding a customer who allegedly cashed two Franklin County payroll checks at the store, and the manager was suspicious.

Gulley says the manager sent pictures of the checks to him, and it was very evident that they were counterfeit. The only accurate information on the checks was the address of the courthouse. Everything else was fake.

Gulley noted the check stock looked different than the county’s check stock. He says they were written on a bank the county doesn’t use, and the person who signed the checks doesn’t work for the county.

Gulley immediately notified Franklin County Sheriff Don Jones, and the sheriff’s office has started an investigation into the matter.

Jones says unfortunately, check fraud like this is not an uncommon occurrence. He says that’s why he advises businesses to be very wary of cashing checks for people they do not know especially if they are not from the local area.

While there have been no additional reports of counterfeit Franklin County payroll checks nor any reports of them locally, Jones and Gulley warn local vendors to keep a close watch.

Gulley says if anyone attempts to cash a Franklin County check and you aren’t familiar with that person or if the check looks suspicious, call his office at 438-7311 to verify if the check is genuine.