Fresno PD looking for two women who posed as exotic dancers and tried to cash fake checks

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno police are looking for two women who pretended to be exotic dancers and tried to cash bogus checks at a local convenience store. The store clerk said the women even had their children with them.

It happened Wednesday evening at Kay Liquor on Belmont and Fourth in central Fresno. Police are now working to track down the women.

This liquor store is down about $1,000 after the clerk mistakenly cashed checks that weren't real. Turns out, the suspects motherly appearance was deceiving. According to the clerk, the female suspects were very unsuspecting when they came into Kay Liquor Wednesday evening. "One of the girls, Tania, she came in with her sons and the other one, Melissa, she came in with her daughter. So you don't think anything of it. You don't think these guys are coming in with bad checks but in reality, they are," said Gucci Singh, Kay's Liquor.

The women came into the convenience store with checks from a company called Valley Dancers Adult Entertainment. It's unclear if the name on the licenses is their real name. The address on the checks actually belongs to a Fresno adult bookstore but a manager said the store has no ties to any exotic dancing business.

Fresno police now have copies of the ID's the suspects were carrying as evidence, and also their fingerprints. The address on one ID led to a boarded-up apartment complex on Calaveras street. The store manager said he is getting many of the same dead ends, starting the bank who confirmed the checks are phony. "They saw the check numbers and they are like no, these checks are fake. There's no way two checks have the same check number," said Singh.

The clerk said he was distracted and not paying attention because the store was busy at the time and he admits he just assumed the women were honest. "That's their little game plan-- they try to trick you."

Several people in the area recognize the women, which means they may live or frequent the area but they do not know them by the names on the ID's.