Two persons have been arrested on charges they used false identifications at banks in Clear Lake, Mason City and Algona in an attempt to withdraw funds from accounts which did not belong to them.
    Tyish Hamilton, 22, of Antioch, Calif., and Mark Stephens, 31, of Oakland, Calif., were taken into custody Friday, Feb. 8.  
    It was the second time in six weeks that employees at the Bank of America branch in Clear Lake helped to stop a theft attempt.
    This time, Mason City police were alerted at 3:55 p.m. Feb. 8 of a report of a possible forgery.  They arrested Hamilton at the Bank of America in Mason City on a forgery charge. Police continued their investigation and shortly after 11 p.m. arrested Stephens, charging him with aiding and abetting forgery.
    Both are being held in the Cerro Gordo County Jail on $5,000 bond.
    On Dec. 27, three men were thwarted in an attempt to steal $15,000 through fraud, thanks to the actions of Bank of America Clear Lake office Assistant Manager Doug Weiland.  
    Othello Gaye Karngbaye, 25, of Brooklyn Park, Minn. and  accomplices Oladipo Sowunmi Woodduck, 26, of Woodbury, Minn., and 30-year-old Adetakunbo Olumbunmi Adejumo, of Crystal, Minn. were charged. Adujumo has been arrested and convicted of felony credit card fraud in Prior Lake and Brooklyn Park, Minn., and felony swindle in Minnetonka, Minn.  Karngbaye and Woodduck also have arrest records in Minnesota.
    Police ask that anyone who knows of suspicous circumstances concerning bank accounts or fund transactions contact them.  The Clear Lake Police Department may be reached at 357-2186.