AUBURN - An elaborate forgery ring involving bogus checks drawn on accounts for the local Sheriff's Department and two courts could result in the alleged thieves spending plenty of time at both places.

The scheme involved more than $35,000 in fake checks cashed or attempted to be cashed at two local banks, police said in court papers.

At least 10 people were arrested in connection with the phony checks and indicted by an Androscoggin County grand jury earlier this month. They are scheduled to be arraigned in Androscoggin County Superior Court next week on felony forgery charges.

At the center of the scheme was James K. Carver, 25, of Auburn, according to an affidavit signed by Androscoggin County Detective Sgt. William Gagne. In April, Carver bought a laptop computer and printer, and blank checks from an office supply store, Gagne said.

He said Carver would find people who had been issued checks drawn on accounts for the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Department, Androscoggin County Superior Court and Maine District Court.

He would print the bogus checks on his computer using valid account numbers from those checks. He would sign his fake checks, then issue them to others to cash at TD Banknorth and Bank of America, the banks where the real accounts were active, court records said.

The search of a white Ford Explorer SUV, driven by Carver's girlfriend, turned up the computer and printer with a blank check still in it matching the checks that had shown up at local banks, the affidavit said. Several syringes and heroin test kits also were found in the vehicle, according to police.

Gagne interviewed Ashley Banville, 22, of Auburn, Carver's girlfriend. Gagne said she explained how the ring worked and admitted cashing three of the checks totaling $6,000, knowing they were forged. She was indicted on one count of forgery, punishable by up to five years in prison.

Banville said she always turned the cash over to Carver. At one point, the couple had more than $10,000, which they used to support their cocaine habit, she told Gagne.

Carver was indicted on one count of forgery, punishable by up to 30 years in prison. He also was charged with possession of forgery devices and violation of conditions of release.

On May 28, the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Department pieced together the scheme after a manager at the Bank of America branch on Lisbon Street in Lewiston called to report a man and woman had just tried to cash a check for $2,000 on an account from the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Department Inmate Disbursement Account. The couple left without any money, saying they had to go check on their children, according to the affidavit.

Gagne met with the manager at the bank. She showed him the check and said the man had used a Massachusetts driver's license when asked by the teller for identification. The manager issued a "fraud alert" to other banks.

Looking closer at the check, Gagne could see that "sheriff" was misspelled "shiriff" and instead of Turner Street for the address, "Turnner st." was printed.

"Fine overpayments" appeared in the memo line of the check, but that wasn't the purpose of that bank account, Gagne wrote in one of his affidavits.

Gagne met with the Androscoggin County Jail administrator and the sheriff's officer in charge of the bank account the forged check had been drawn on. They put the bogus check and a real one side by side and noted the fake check was tan while the real one was bluish.

Others charged with forgery in the scheme were:

• Renee Belisle, 26, of 302 Turner St., Auburn. She was convicted of theft and forgery in March.

• Kevin Petersen, 47, of 51 College St., Lewiston;

• Laura M. Ayer, 23, of 132 Spring St., Auburn;

• Corey S. Harding, 21, of Rumford;

• Tomeca Marie Weaver, 22, of 12 College St., Lewiston;

• Joseph A. Langley, 23, of 48 Mower Ave, Lewiston;

• Lucas Salas, 31, of 116 Bartlett St., Lewiston; and

• Tyrell Teague, 33, of 353 Lisbon St., Lewiston.