British man charged with trying to cash stolen checks

A British citizen in town to catch the Mike Tyson-Frans Botha fight was temporarily on the ropes himself after attempting to cash at a Strip casino a pocketful of travelers checks stolen last fall overseas, Metro Police said.

A casino cage cashier uncovered the secret about 10 a.m. Friday after calling American Express to verify that the checks were good and being told they were hot, said Forgery Sgt. Robert Sebby.

"The checks this man had were all unsigned and only a few of the ones stolen this past September during an armed robbery at a travel agency in Manchester, England," Sebby said. "The man said he was here for the Tyson fight, and was going to use the money from the checks to pay for his trip here in Vegas."

The 56-year-old man pleaded innocence, claiming the checks were given to him as under-the-table money he earned doing construction jobs in England, Sebby said.

Police said they found the man carrying 35 blank travelers checks on him in increments of 20 pounds Sterling each, and another 40 checks worth 50 pounds Sterling each in his hotel room -- a total of 2,700 pounds Sterling worth $4,470.

A glance at his passport showed stamps from Cairo and Hong Kong within the past few months, Sebby said.

The investigation determined that shortly after the man arrived in Las Vegas Thursday night, he was able to cash 1,000 pounds worth of checks -- about $1,655 -- at a cage where no one bothered to call American Express.

Police didn't have enough evidence to substantiate a case and had to let the man go, although Sebby said that he has relayed all information to British authorities, who are continuing their investigation.

The checks are believed to be the first ones out of the stolen batch to pop up in the U.S. Sebby was told by British authorities that other recovered checks have surfaced in England and many more are still missing.

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