Police: Man Used Forgery To Cash Tax Return Check

A Duluth man is facing a forgery-third degree charge after he cashed a tax-return check that was made out to someone else, according to police.

Mandy M. Mulenga of a State Bridge Road address in Duluth was booked into the Gwinnett Detention Center on Dec. 27, according to jail records.

According to Gwinnett Police, Mulenga cashed a tax-return check for $10,584.52 in June that was made out to another Gwinnett resident. The check was cashed at a check-cashing business in Peachtree Corners.

The owner of the check-cashing business was told later by the U.S. Treasury Department that the check was stolen, according to the police report.

The business owner said the suspect has cashed checks for people in the past, and the owner said the suspect was a 10-year customer.

The check that was cashed had been prepared by a tax service in Lilburn, police said. A Gwinnett County warrant said the suspect forged the Gwinnett resident's name on the back of the check.

A separate Gwinnett County warrant said that Mulenga provided the Social Security number of another person on the back of a U.S. Treasury check at the same check-cashing business, as a form of identification for deposit. This warrant carried an identity fraud charge against the suspect.

This information comes from Gwinnett Police and the Gwinnett Sheriff's Office. It does not indicate a conviction. Questions should be directed to duluth@patch.com.