Under the Michigan Penal Code that covers banking and check crimes, presenting a check that doesn’t have enough money in the back to cover the check is a crime. Local prosecutors take check and insufficient funds crimes very seriously and you very well could be facing a felony charge.
Check And Insufficient Funds (NSF) Crimes
When a person writes a check against a bank account that doesn’t have sufficient funds in it to cover the amount requested is considered fraud. It is also looked at as an attempt to cheat someone. Bounced or bad checks could cause a person to be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony depending on how much the check was written for and what kind of prior criminal record a person has. If you are facing incarceration of over 1 year, it is considered a felony charge.
MCL 750.131 provides: A person shall not make, draw, utter, or deliver any check, draft, or order for the payment of money, to apply on account or otherwise, upon any bank or other depositories with intent to defraud if the person does not have sufficient funds for the payment of the check, draft, or order when presentation for payment is made to the drawee. This subsection does not apply if the lack of funds is due to garnishment, attachment, levy, or other lawful cause and that fact was not known to the person when the person made, drew, uttered, or delivered the check, draft, or order. A person who violates this section is guilty of a crime as follows:
Amount of Check
NSF check less than $100
NSF check $100 but less than $500
NSF check $500 or more
3 or more NSF checks within 10 days
No account check in any amount
Maximum Penalty
93 days and/or $500 fine
1 year and/or $1,000 fine
2 years and/or $2,000 fine
2 years and/or $500 fine
2 years and/or $500 fine
Defenses Against Check Crimes:
Making An Honest Mistake is a Defense.
When you are charged with a felony or misdemeanor check crime, if you can show you made a mistake, the charges should be dropped by the prosecutor. If the prosecutor won’t drop the charges, we can take your case to trial and use this defense to get a not guilty verdict. A lot of people who get in trouble for this type of crime have a financial crisis or lost their job. The statute of limitations for a felony check crime is ten years! The statute of limitations for a misdemeanor check crime is six years! If the debtor pays for the bounced check, that is not a defense that will get the charges dropped or a not guilty verdict.