Spring Lake, N.C. — A Spring Lake man has been charged with making and passing counterfeit checks and money orders, authorities said.

A man gave a Cumberland County woman who needed money to pay her bills an $850 money order in exchange for $400 in cash and the promise of another $400 in cash later on, authorities said. But the woman discovered the money order was fraudulent when she tried to deposit it in her bank account.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for the home of Garry Edward Walden, 51, of 205 Cecil Avenue, and recovered a number of fraudulent money orders and business checks.

Authorities said they suspect other people have had similar encounters, and they said additional charges might be filed in the case.