A Houston man is facing charges in Liberty County after he was arrested on forgery charges on Oct. 14. According to Cleveland Police Chief Darrel Broussard, 47-year-old Eric Hunter Tizzano is charged with Forgery of a Financial Instrument, a state jail felony, after he allegedly attempted to pass a fraudulent check at Austin Bank, 807 E. Houston, Cleveland.
When Officer Erica Fleming arrived at the bank, she was directed to a male suspect who presented the forged check. The suspect reportedly was wearing a safety vest and claimed to be working in the area.
After being shown the check by the teller, Fleming noticed the check to be similar to a previously reported forged check passed on the same account days earlier.
“The employees of Austin Bank did a great job recognizing the check to be suspicious and notifying law enforcement right away,” said Chief Broussard. “I also want to commend Officer Fleming for being attentive to the previous forgery cases involving the citizen’s personal business bank account that had already been breached.”
Fleming contacted the account holder, who reportedly told her that the “check was not good.” Tizzano was taken into custody and transported to Cleveland Police Department’s jail where he was booked in and charged.
Tizzano was later transferred to Liberty County Jail. Bond was set at $5,000 and he has since bonded out of jail.
Broussard said this case is an ongoing investigation due to previous bogus checks being passed on the same account.