FARMINGTON – A Waterford man accused of passing fake checks to get furniture, TVs and appliances is in jail, and four people accused of buying or bartering to get the stolen goods were arrested Friday, police said.

Branden Robert Belanger, 38, of Town Farm Road in Waterford was arrested Thursday at a Harrison gas station and convenience store, Farmington police Chief Richard Caton III said. He was taken into custody after Farmington police Detective Marc Bowering and other departments around Franklin County received information from the public, he said.

Arrested at three residences early Friday, Caton said, were: Scott Pinkham, 40, of Phillips, Dennis Ayala, 45, of Wilton, Donald Nemeth, 49, of Chesterville, and Lori A. Savage, 46, of Avon. Each was charged with one count of receiving stolen property and were all released on $3,000 unsecured bail.

Officers from the Farmington and Wilton police departments, Maine State Police, Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and Franklin County Sheriff’s Department executed search warrants at the Franklin County home just after midnight Friday, Caton said.

Seventeen police officers recovered thousands of dollars worth of items, including kitchen tables and chairs and other furniture, flat screen televisions, a refrigerator, gas kitchen stove, sectional couches and two dog beds bought with counterfeit checks, Caton said. Businesses in Franklin, Androscoggin, Oxford and Somerset counties are among those victimized, he said.

Caton said the four Franklin County residents charged either bartered or paid cash for the items that they knew were obtained by deceptive means.

Belanger, who is a transient with several addresses, faces multiple forgery and theft charges for buying thousands of dollars worth of items with computer-generated counterfeit checks with completely false routing and account numbers, Franklin County Assistant District Attorney James Andrews told Justice Michaela Murphy in Farmington District Court on Friday.

Belanger was there for arraignment on on two misdemeanor charges of forgery and theft by deception related to a chain saw bought with a bogus check at Labonville in Farmington on Jan. 26, Andrews said.

“This kind of represents the tip of the iceburg of Mr. Belanger’s actions,” Andrews said.

He listed some of Belanger’s prior convictions, including forgery and theft in 1998. He also fled the state, Andrews said, on a probation violation and had to be extradited from New Jersey.

Murphy entered not guilty pleas on Belanger since he did not have an attorney.

“I have a drug problem. I’m not a scumbag,” Belanger said.

Belanger said his family was in the process of getting him an attorney.

He asked her why bail was set high at $2,500 cash or $25,000 worth of real estate, since there was more than one person involved. He also said he told police where they could find the property bought with the fake checks, and that they told him they would be with him in court Friday but didn’t show.

He asked Andrews if most of the items were recovered and was told he wasn’t free to answer.

As part of his bail conditions he cannot possess checks and must submit to random search and possession and testing for illegal drugs.