COARSEGOLD — An alleged identity thief caught trying to pass a doctored check is due in court today in Bass Lake, according to authorities.
Sheriff deputies arrested Matthew Howard Barker, 38, of Fresno last week after he allegedly presented an altered driver’s license in an attempt to pass a phony check in Coarsegold, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Erica Stuart.
A cashier, suspecting fraud, quickly alerted authorities.
A call to the bank’s fraud department confirmed the checking account number to be authentic, but the actual holder of the account had a different name, Stuart said. Both the check and driver’s license had the same last name, but the true account holder had a different first name...