(AP) – Kansas authorities say a man who impersonated law enforcement officers as part of a scam to cash phony checks and pass bad checks has been arrested in Oklahoma.

The Kansas State Bureau of Investigation says 46-year-old Robert Helms of Pittsburg, Kan., was arrested Wednesday in Vinita when a clerk at a Wal-Mart called police after recognizing one of the aliases Helms was known to use.

Authorities told reporters that Helms targeted stores in Kansas, Missouri, Colorado and Oklahoma. He allegedly would by electronics and gift cards with fraudulent checks from non-existent banks and cashed phony payroll checks from current and non-existent sheriff’s offices in Kansas. Investigators say Helms would show a badge and a weapon and portray himself as a plainclothes officer or a detective.