SUFFOLK

In October, a group of acquaintances, hoping to make extra money, printed Gwaltney of Smithfield payroll checks on home computers and cashed them at numerous downtown businesses.

They made some mistakes. They used a lowercase rather than a capital “G” in Gwaltney; they used a bank and bank account not affiliated with Gwaltney; and they used the wrong address. Nobody at the Smithfield packing company had given permission to write the checks.

Still, the group managed to defraud the businesses of about $20,000 in cash, prosecutor Marilyn Sallee said in court Friday.

Four of the five suspects – Raymond Ralph, Brandon Burks, Angela Holloway and Aisha Reid – entered a plea agreement Friday and pleaded guilty to several counts of forgery and conspiracy. Each of them could get as much as 10 years in prison , Sallee said.

Josephine Ralph, who faces only two charges , didn’t get in on the final deal. Raymond Ralph is still in Western Tidewater Regional Jail because he has several other charges, according to Sallee.

The scam went on for about a month, Sallee said. The conspirators will be sentenced in June and July.

Linda McNatt, (757) 222-5561, linda.mcnatt@pilotonline.com