Two people were recently arrested on federal charges after one of them allegedly attempted to cash a stolen check at a Bowling Green post office.

Andrea Cooks, 25, of Oakland, California, and Zaire P. O’Neal-Gillard, 27, of Snellville, Georgia, are accused of conspiracy to commit offense or defraud the U.S. and possession of stolen treasury checks.

The pair were arrested July 24 after a postal inspector leaving the Bowling Green Post Office and Sorting Distribution Center on Scottsville Road became suspicious upon noticing a vehicle with a Georgia license plate back in to a parking spot and a passenger, later identified as Cooks, went past the inspector, who detected the odor of marijuana, according to court records.

In a criminal complaint unsealed Friday, U.S. Postal Inspector Brian Coyt said that he observed Cooks attempt to cash a check for $2,775.70, with a postal worker obtaining an ID from Cooks, who asked to cash the check in exchange for $1,000 with the remaining balance put on a money order.

The postal clerk who handled the transaction reported that Cooks appeared nervous and did not want to show her identification.

Coyt said the check had a listed payee of a Los Angeles resident and that Cooks possessed a California driver’s license with the payee’s name but with a picture of a woman who resembled Cooks, and that the license appeared to be fraudulent.

Cooks was stopped in the lobby by Coyt and handcuffed on suspicion of attempting to cash a stolen check and possessing fraudulent identification, and she told the inspector that she was provided with a ride from Atlanta to Kentucky for a party with friends, the complaint said.

Law enforcement searched Cooks’ purse and found a U.S. Passport Card that appeared to be fraudulent and a passport that Cooks said was her true identity, records show.

Cooks also revealed a large amount of money in the front pocket of her hooded sweatshirt, and police soon afterward stopped her vehicle at a convenience store across form the post office, detaining O’Neal-Gillard.

“O’Neal-Gillard stated he was being paid to come to Kentucky, drop Cooks off and return to the Atlanta area,” Coyt said in the complaint.

During a search of the vehicle, police found an envelope containing a check for $2,494 payable to another California resident, along with a suspected fraudulent driver’s license with the name of that person and a picture of someone resembling Cooks, records show.

Police performed criminal history searches of Cooks and O’Neal-Gillard and found arrests in Georgia, California and New York for various charges, including theft and possession of forged instruments.

“O’Neal-Gillard denied any knowledge or involvement in the suspected stolen treasury checks after being questioned regarding his history of arrests involving financial crimes,” the criminal complaint stated.

The pair were charged with state offenses before the federal criminal complaint was filed against them.

Cooks has a detention hearing Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Bowling Green, while O’Neal-Gillard is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday for a detention hearing and a preliminary hearing.Two arrested in check fraud scheme