KCK grocery store bouncing back from $32,000 check scam

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A Kansas City, Kansas, grocery store owner is trying to bounce back from $32,000 worth of fraudulent checks.

The El Nopal Grocery store offers money transfer services and assistance with bill payments. Owner Ever Hernandez is originally from Mexico and said he started the business as a service for other Latino immigrants sending money to their families who live out of the country.

“It’s a slap in the face. I’m doing this for the community,” said Hernandez.

He said about 40 people came to his shop over three hours on Saturday, March 1. They were all caught on surveillance video cashing checks, claiming to be from another local business.

“It’s not uncommon that you get a group like that, you know we them, we do the best we can do but now we’re gonna implement more stricter measures in order to avoid this happening in the future,” he said.

Each transaction came out to about $800 each, which Hernandez said by itself raised no red flags. It wasn’t until after he called to with the business once they left that he found out the checks were unauthorized. By that point, the money was already gone and police told him it’s unlikely he’ll get it back.

“They started fearing that we’re not gonna cash the check, they were kind of fidgeting, and they were like, are you gonna cash the check, are you gonna cash a check, I knew at that point a hundred percent that they were fraudulent,” said Hernandez.

He is now working extra hours to recover from losing most of his business savings, which will mean more time spent with family.

“The first daughter, labor was hard for my wife, and I wanted to be there for her a little longer,” he said.

After sharing the surveillance footage online, he said people from the area recognized some of the faces of those involved. He wonders who would do this to him and why.

“It’s just sad that you could do that to your own community. I hope they don’t do it to anywhere else, but it’s even worse when it’s your own community,” said Hernandez.

Hernandez said he believes those who scammed him are from the very same community he opened his doors to serve in KCK. He handed over security footage and IDs to police, and they are investigating.

KCKPD told KCTV5 on Monday that they believe the same people tried to hit another business in Independence, Missouri, the very same day.

For those wanting to help, El Nopal has set up a GoFundMe for .

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