Lincoln police say three homeless men now face felony forgery charges after agreeing to cash fake checks in exchange for money, a hotel room for a night and food from McDonald’s.

Lincoln Police Officer Katie Flood says the homeless men got caught up in a nationwide scam where thieves make bogus checks and then recruit transients to cash them.

Police arrested 54-year-old Paul Edward Bellow on suspicion of two counts of forgery on Tuesday. The other two suspects haven’t been arrested yet.

The three homeless men cashed five checks worth $21,138 at two Security First branches last Friday.

Investigators haven’t identified the group that recruited the homeless men the day before. The nationwide scam originated with gang members in Atlanta.