Two men who couldn’t spell were foiled by a clerk who could.

Police say two men tried to pass a counterfeit payroll check bearing the name, “Boryhill Furmiture” on Monday afternoon at Lowes Foods off U.S. 321 in Hickory, North Carolina.

Police are still searching for the two men, but have arrested Kathy Elaine Gillman, 39, and her daughter Amanda Kaye Gillman, 18, both of Ohio, in connection with the scheme.

The incident unfolded around 1:15 p.m. when two men tried to cash a $498 check at the grocery store. When the store’s office assistant noticed that Broyhill Furniture was misspelled, she rejected the check.

The men quickly left the store. Employees called police and told them they saw the men running toward the highway and that two women were following them in a red Pontiac Grand Am.

Minutes later, Hickory police officers K. Lo and D.J. Morris found the two women. The two male suspects were gone, but inside the car police found 42 checks in amounts ranging from $200 to $400.

The checks were made out to Nathan Williamson and Kevin Gillman. Police believe Gillman is Amanda’s father and Kathy Gillman’s ex-husband.

The checks were from businesses in Georgia, South Carolina and West Virginia, including Millcreek Construction, Beaufort Glass and 84 Lumber.

Hickory Police Capt. Steve Wright said the women told police they were traveling from Ohio to Beaufort, S.C., to visit a relative, but would not comment on the whereabouts or identities of the two male suspects.

Wright said the overall quality of the checks was impressive.

“There’s a good possibility that if the name on the check had been spelled correctly, they would have gotten away with it,” Wright said.

A search of the car turned up a software program used to print checks, pages torn from a phone book and a handgun.

The women were arrested on counts of aiding and abetting the obtaining of property by false pretense and possession of counterfeit checks.

Both were placed under $25,000 secured bonds. The mother had an additional $10,000 secured bond.

Their first court appearance is scheduled for today.

Story courtesy of Megan Ward and the Hickory, North Carolina Record