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Can i go to jail for unknowingly cashing bad checks?
Anonymous4 views3 answers
I cashed some checks for a friend. one of her friends wrote her several checks for rent etc. I helped her cash them by cosigning at my bank. I cashed them and then a few days later i get a call from my bank saying they bounced and now i owe my bank 7,000 dollars and i recieved none of it. and they told me over the phone that if its not paid withinn 10 days it will be sent to the county clerks office. I was under the impressioon these were good checks. thats the only reason i helped out. the checks were written out to her through somebody else. will i get in trouble for this or is the check writer responsible. i also have a mental disabilty called aspergers syndrome which is a mild form of autism.
Peter Walter WestonBankruptcy AttorneyBellaire, TX ·
The original check writer is responsible, but because of negotiation rules, the one who takes the check, can go against the last one who presented it to them, so you can be liable, and it appears the Bank wants you to pay.
Endorsing or negotiating checks can be both a breach of contract, and a criminal offense, and you should consult an attorney to see what your practical risk is.
Do it right away, since there is a time period of 10 days set by law for you to settle, before a criminal charge could be asked for by the Bank.
You can go against your cosigner, and the prior signer before you, but unless the Bank would wait, you have to pa the Bank, then you collect from someone else.
Your mental disability could be a factor as a defense, but if you lack mental competency to enter into into contracts, you should not have a bank account of your own.
If you endorsed the check meaning you signed it and then put it in your bank account you gave certain warranties that the check is good and you become liable unless you made a restrictive endorsement. A restrictive endorsement would be in this circumstance if you signed you name and put "without recourse" but then the bank wouldn't of cashed it. By signing the backs of the checks you are liable as well as other signers, and the maker as well. All parties may be sued by the bank or handed over to the states attorney for check fraud. This could and may become a criminal matter not only a civil one.
