Saline police say they arrested two Detroit women for trying to pass bad checks at a local bank as part of what they suspect is a broader fraud scheme.

Police were called to the TCF Bank branch at 1301 E. Michigan Ave. shortly after 4 p.m. on Dec. 2 when the women, ages 23 and 18, tried to cash suspicious checks with their names and addresses on them.

The tellers requested a second piece of identification and said they would have to wait while the transaction was approved. The women then tried to get the checks back and said they would take them elsewhere, reports said.

An employee followed the women as they left and directed officers to them outside a nearby strip mall. Officers noticed a vehicle sped out of the parking lot as they arrived and later learned the women were driven in it from Detroit.

One of the women said she responded to an ad in the newspaper for a phone sales job and was asked by her boss to cash the checks and remit portions to him.

Investigators later learned one of the women passed a check at a TCF branch in Ann Arbor that day. Officers instructed bank officials to contact Ann Arbor police.

The women were booked at the Saline Police Department and were released pending formal charges. Officers forwarded their report to prosecutors for review while the investigation is ongoing.

Art Aisner is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.