Check Fraud FAQs – California Penal Code Section 476

1.    If I tried to return or repay the money I had taken with a fraudulent check, am I still going to be prosecuted?

It is not a legal defense to the charge of check fraud that you returned the property to the victim. You are still legally guilty of the crime of forgery. However, often by making “restitution” to the victim through your lawyer at the earliest possible time can be a “mitigating factor” which can assist you in receiving a less serious sentence.

2.    If I made or used a fraudulent check, but it did not actually defraud anyone or cause any kind of loss at all, can I still be charged with check fraud?

Yes. The crime does not require that someone actually be defrauded or suffer a financial, legal, or property loss as a result. The minute you commit the act of altering a check or passing it off, you are liable for check fraud.

3.    Can the charge be reduced to a lesser offense?

Yes. If your circumstances allow it, your check fraud allegation can be reduced to attempted check fraud. Under California Penal Code Section 664, any failed attempt to commit a crime that is punishable by imprisonment in state prison will incur a sentence that is one-half the prison term of that attempted crime. If, for example, a check fraud charge would bring the maximum sentence of three years in state prison, reducing the charge to attempted check fraud will reduced a maximum sentence to eighteen months.

4.    What if I was only in possession of the false check and had no involvement in making or altering it? Can I still be prosecuted?

Yes. Even possessing or receiving a forged check can bring about criminal charges if it is shown that you intended to pass or use the check to defraud. This applies even with blank or unfinished checks. It is not necessary to show that you intended to fill up the unfinished check; it is sufficient to show that you knew of the check’s fraudulent purpose.

5.    What if the check I attempted to use was obviously false and could not possibly be taken seriously? Can I still face check fraud charges?

No. Unless the falsified check is of such a nature that someone might possibly be defrauded by it, the mere falsity of the writing is not enough to incur a check fraud conviction. Basically, this crime requires that the check not only be false, but also requires that it be something that can be taken seriously. Attempting to cash a “check” scribbled on a napkin, for example, will not suffice.