Our dedicated criminal defense lawyers at Chamlin, Uliano & Walsh have decades of experience defending clients charged with check fraud and other offenses related to writing bad checks in Neptune, Long Branch, Asbury Park, Red Bank, Howell, Wall, and surrounding towns in New Jersey. If you are facing charges for passing or issuing a bad check, credit card fraud, theft by deception, identity theft, forgery, or another crime in Monmouth County, contact us today at (732) 440-3950 for immediate assistance. We can explain the process, the severity of the crimes of which you have been accused, and the many ways we can aid in defending you.
According to NJ Rev. Stat § 2C:21-5 (2022), a bad check is defined as a person who issues or passes a check or money order knowing it will not be honored. That means that the law will look to the knowledge of the person writing the check and whether they knew the check wouldn’t be honored. In New Jersey, the difference between a criminal offense and simple poor financial management rests on the issuer’s intent. Let’s take a likely scenario where a person writes a check when he or she has the funds to cover it. The person who receives the check doesn’t immediately deposit it. They wait some time, and finally, when they cash it in, the check’s issuer doesn’t have enough funds to cover it. The banking institution does not honor the check due to “insufficient funds.”
You may be wondering whether this is a punishable offense. After all, when you wrote the check, you had the funds and, arguably, did not intend for the check to bounce. The answer will depend. In some situations, the law presumes that a person knew the check wouldn’t be honored. In the scenario described, the bank will notify the issuer of the check that they have failed to make good on their promise and must provide the funds within 10 days of notice. Usually, a person has time to cure the problem by depositing or transferring money to cover the funds.
Yet, there are some instances where this will not happen. Ten days will come and go, and the issuer still hasn’t made good on their promise. In a situation like this, the issuer has written a bad check. It doesn’t matter that they had sufficient funds when they wrote the check. What matters is whether they made good on their promise within 10 days of receiving notice that the check had bounced for insufficient funds. In such situations, the law presumes that the check’s issuer knew it wouldn’t be paid. This qualifies as a punishable offense under the law.
Another way an issuer of a check could commit a bad check offense is if the person never had an account at the financial institution or the account was closed. These examples are situations where the issuer will be presumed to have knowingly written a bad check. There are other scenarios where a person could be charged with issuing a bad check. However, the government must prove that the issuer knowingly did so.
Under New Jersey law, issuing a bad check is punishable by consequences of varying degrees. The degree of the crime correlates to the amount of money the issuer intended to defraud. The offense can be a disorderly persons offense and escalate to an indictable felony. If the issuer committed check fraud for $75,000 or more, then it constitutes a second degree offense and an indictable felony. A second degree conviction for check fraud could lead to 5 to 10 years in jail with fines up to $150,000.
If the amount was more than $1,000 but less than $75,000, it will be a third degree offense and an indictable felony. A third degree conviction can result in jail time of 3 to 5 years and $15,000 in fines. Anything over $200, but less than $1,000 will be a fourth degree crime and an indictable felony. Fourth degree convictions can result in up to 18 months of jail time and $10,000 in fines. Only check fraud in an amount less than $200 is a disorderly person offense. If convicted of a disorderly persons offense, a person could do 6 months of jail time and up to $1,000 in fines.
If your check fraud case resulted in a conviction or an alternative such as a dismissal through completion of the Pre-Trial Intervention Program, it could be expunged. An application to the court can be made and successfully completed to remove all records associated with a check fraud case, including an arrest for passing bad checks and the resulting court documents. To be eligible, a person must wait 5 years from the conviction date for a disorderly persons offense or a felony, unless they are eligible for an “early pathway” expungement, in which case the waiting period is 3 years for a disorderly persons offense or 4 years for an indictable crime. During the wait time, the person cannot have convictions for other offenses. Notably, there are shorter waiting periods for PTI expungements and conditional discharge and conditional dismissal expungements as well.
It is the state’s burden to prove that the check’s issuer knew the check was bad. They must prove each element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. It is the role of your criminal defense attorney to demonstrate that the prosecution has not met their burden of proof. The best defense for a particular case will also rest on the specific facts. General defenses include checks cashed 30 days after the issuance date, checks that were not properly written or signed, and notices of a bounced check never received. However, your defense should be devised based on the particular allegations and evidence against you.
Our team of experienced criminal defense lawyers at Chamlin, Uliano & Walsh is available to review the specific facts of your case and determine the most effective defense strategy to help you maintain your freedom and reputation. If you have been arrested for check fraud, call (732) 440-3950 for a consultation or fill out a form online to get in touch with our attorneys regarding your defense. We are ready to assist you with a bad checks charge and other criminal offenses in Red Bank, Belmar, Tinton Falls, Freehold, and Middletown, and other areas in Monmouth County, NJ.