These thieves must love the payday loan business. It's provided them with bags and bags of cash.

So one can assume, after an Athens cash advance/check cashing company was robbed late Wednesday/early Thursday this week. The pattern was similar to previous robberies this year of stories that offer payday loans.

The victim this was was Check ’n Go, located in the 1300 block of East Tyler. As has happened in other burglaries, a blunt object - possibly a sledge hammer - was used to break a hole through the outer wall of the building. Once inside, the robbers stole a safe from inside the store containing cash and checks. The amount of money taken is being withheld to protect the business.

“It’s very similar to crimes recently committed in our area, and it’s possible it’s the same actors,” Athens Police Chief Buddy Hill said.

But he noted the police department has no evidence tying similar cash loan crimes together. He said some physical evidence was recovered at the scene.

A garbage collector picking up dumpsters behind the strip mall where Check ’n Go is located discovered a hole smashed through the back of the business around 5:15 a.m. Thursday. The investigation is ongoing.

They won't get away with this! A few payday loan stores have been robbed around the nation, but authorities in Florida have a few leads about a recent crime spree in Broward County.

The Sheriff's Office believes two men and a young woman are behind a series of robberies over the past five weeks; the latest of which took place at Class Jewelers, 3756 W. Hillsboro Blvd. So why is the Payday Loan Times Police Blotter all over the story?

Detectives said the same man and woman robbed Fast Payday Loans, 548 E. Commercial Blvd, on June 30. Their first robbery occurred June 10 at another payday advance operation - when two men stole cash at gunpoint from the clerk at the Check N Go, 3628 W. Hillsboro Blvd.

While it's natural that crooks would look to these businesses - because they carry a lot of cash on hand - that doesn't make it any more right. Anyone with information on the robbery of cash loan stores should stp forward.

The Payday Loan Times Police Blotter is at it again …

In Boise, copy are looking for a man who robbed a payday loan company this Saturday morning.The man walked into Nice 'n Easy Payday Loans, 328 N. Orchard St. around 11:30 a.m., showed a small silver handgun to a clerk and demanded money, police said.

The man fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of money from the quick payday loan operation. The robber is described as 25 to 30 years old, 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall with an average build, short hair and a brown goatee. At the time of the robbery he was wearing a dark blue baseball cap, large frame sunglasses, a red T-shirt, and blue jeans.

Anyone with information is asked to call Boise Police at 377-6790or Crime Stoppers at 343-2677.

Because they are, by nature, locations where people can access quick cash, it's no surprise that payday loan stores are easy targets for criminals. A look at today's industry news reveals two armed robberies involving payday loans, one of which has thankfully been solved.

In Virginia, two Bentonville, Ark., residents were arrested in connection with a robbery at a Payday Now Cash Advance store.

On Friday, the Bentonville Police Department received a call regarding an aggravated robbery at the payday loan company, and a subsequent investigation showed that a male subject entered the store, pointed a gun at the clerk and demanded cash.

The suspect’s accomplice, a female, was given an undetermined sum. The two fled the scene and the region, turning up in Virginia days later. Timothy Donnell Satchell, 27, and Marciela Barrientos Gomez, 27, were taken into custody by the Virginia State Police and are being held pending extradition to Arkansas.

In Cananda, a similar incident took place and the perpetrator is still on the lam. Police in Winnipeg, Manitoba are on the lookout for a man who robbed a Transcona payday loan outlet at knifepoint June 13.

The Winnipeg Sun reports that a pony-tailed suspect armed with a knife walked into the store, located on Regent Avenue, and abruptly demanding money. No one at the fast cash advance store was hurt.

Police are actively pursuing the man, who is described being in his early 30’s, and about 5' 10" with a stocky, 180-to 190-pound build, a pony tail and an unshaven face.