ST. GEORGE — Two suspects are in jail for their alleged involvement in a check fraud ring that hit a number of banks in the region.

Following multiple investigations in three jurisdictions across Washington County, at least one suspect has yet to be identified two have yet to be arrested, according to police.

Kai Elijah Ramos, 38, of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, was arrested on Wednesday evening and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility facing multiple charges filed in connection with several investigations conducted by multiple jurisdictions across Washington County. 

Washington City bank incident

The arrest stems from an incident reported earlier that same day Wednesday when officers were dispatched to a bank in Washington City shortly after 4 p.m.. Police received a report of three men who entered the branch and were attempting to cash fraudulent checks, as alleged in charging documents filed with the courts. 

The suspects had already left the bank and patrol units began to circulate the area but were unable to locate the suspects. Investigators learned the bank in Washington City received a call from a St. George branch advising that the St. George Police Department was looking for the suspects in connection with a similar incident. 

Later Wednesday, a witness told police one suspect was at a gas station on Telegraph Street in Washington City near where the alleged incident occurred. When officers arrived, they confirmed that the male was Ramos, who was identified by his Tennessee driver’s license. 

Ramos told police said he was just passing through St. George and had been in the area for a few days. He also claimed he was working construction but said his last job was in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

When asked, Ramos told officers the check he tried to cash at the branch in Washington City was in his pocket. He declined to answer any further questions and he was taken into custody. 

The two bank drafts were recovered from the suspect prior to transport to Purgatory Correctional Facility. Officers noted both checks were dated Sept. 6 andappeared to have been drafted from the accounts of two different businesses operating in Washington County. 

2nd suspect arrested in Washington City

Hours later Joe Charles Aguilera, 53, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was found at the same gas station where Ramos had been arrested earlier that evening.

The report states that shortly before 9 p.m., emergency dispatch received a call of a suspicious person lying on the ground behind the gas station, which is where officers found him minutes later.

Aguilera matched the suspect in the bank surveillance footage and was later identified through his Nevada driver’s license, according to police. During a search of the suspect, officers found two checks that turned out to be forged, the report alleges, including the check that was presented to the bank on Telegraph Street.

When asked, Aguilera told officers “a random individual in Las Vegas approached him and offered him money to cash the checks,” the officer noted. And during a background check, they discovered Aguilera was a registered sex offender who was noncompliant out of Nevada.

Aguilera was transported to jail in Washington County and booked on three third-degree felony charges, including two counts of possession of a forgery device and one count of failing to register as a sex offender. He also faces misdemeanor possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.

The suspect is being held without bail. 

The 1st incident in St. George

The incident in St. George was reported on Sept. 1 when officers responded to a report alleging that a fraud had taken place at a bank on West Sunset Boulevard.

According to charging documents, bank employees told officers two men entered the branch and attempted to cash two fraudulent checks. One suspect was later identified as Ramos, who presented the teller with the check and his identification. 

While the teller was validating the draft, the suspect grabbed both the check and his ID card and left the bank. 

At the same time, a second suspect entered the bank and attempted to cash a $2,245 check by presenting an ID card that matched the name listed on the draft. When the business listed on the check was contacted, the account holder told police they had not issued a check to the individual and the suspect took his ID and left the bank. 

Surveillance footage showed the suspects at each bank attempting to cash the fraudulent checks, and Ramos’ identity was confirmed through his Tennessee ID card and his social media accounts being matched to the footage, police say. 

2nd bank branch hit on River Road

A second incident was reported in St. George on Wednesday, several hours prior to the suspects’ arrest in Washington City. Officers responded to a report from a bank branch on South River Road that three suspects were attempting to cash checks that turned out to be forged.

Officers learned from the bank employees one suspect, Ramos, actually cashed a check for more than $2,000 that turned out to be fraudulent, the report states. And all three suspects had left the bank heading south along River Road prior to the officers’ arrival.

Officers learned that Ramos was arrested by officers in Washington City prior to the incident.

Santa Clara branch hit with 3 forged checks

Investigators in St. George then learned of a Sept. 5 incident reported to the Santa Clara-Ivins Police Department involving the same three suspects who allegedly entered a Santa Clara branch and reportedly cashed three checks totaling more than $10,250, that later turned out to be forged.  

2 suspects in jail on multiple charges

Following Ramos’ arrest on Wednesday, authorities requested he be held without bail. 

Additionally, the detective noted, the suspects were driving a rental car and were “likely recruited by someone to carry out this scheme.” 

The request was approved by a no bail hold order that was signed by District Judge Eric A. Ludlow and Ramos remains in custody without bail. 

On Friday, the Washington County Attorney’s Office filed two separate cases against Ramos that included multiple charges, including two second-degree felonies that include one count each of communications fraud and pattern of unlawful activity. He also faces five counts of forgery, each a third-degree felony.

On the second case, the suspect was charged with five third-degree felonies that include three counts of possession of a forgery device, one count of communications fraud and one count of possession of a controlled substance.

Formal charges have yet to be filed against Aguilera who remains in custody in Washington County on a no-bail hold.

Authorities suspect at least four individuals were involved in the scheme, one of whom has been identified by police, but their name has yet to be released. A third suspect has yet to be identified and neither suspect has been arrested.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact. 

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