Stolen Checks Start Circulating

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued an advisory July 16 as a warning that stolen cashier’s checks, money orders and temporary checks from First Community Bank of Crawford County are in circulation.

Rex Woods, vice president of the Van Buren bank, said the stolen items are from a break in on July 1, where robbers used a forklift to tear down a wall and steal a safe from the branch at 1010 Fayetteville Road in Van Buren.

The safe was recovered on July 14 near Siloam Springs. Van Buren detective Keith Lindley said there was $113,179.31 in cash and $3,700 in traveler’s checks in the 3,500-pound safe.

Police recovered the 31 cents in change, he said.

According to the FDIC, all items bear the routing number 082908748. Account numbers on the stolen temporary checks range from 7000111 to 7000421 and have a watercrest in the center. Stolen cashier’s checks are yellow and are numbered from 10253 to 10300. Stolen money orders are numbered from 001429 to 011499.

Lindley said the burglars are also suspected of robbing a safe from a Golden Corral restaurant in Fort Smith in May. He did not believe the buglers are tied to the armed bank robberies in Northwest Arkansas this year.

First Community Bank had $58.9 million in assets and deposits of about $49 million as of March 31. The branch that was burglarized had about $5.9 million in deposits as of June 30, 2006.