Bad Check Program

The Sonoma County District Attorney Bad Check Program helps organizations and individuals collect on bad checks they have received. Check fraud is an $8 billion a year problem in the United States. Even careful merchants get a bad check once in a while. If you can't collect on it, the District Attorney's Office is ready to help.

First time offenders who write bad checks will have to pay restitution instead of facing criminal prosecution. Passing a bad check with the intent to defraud is a crime punishable by one year in jail, three years in prison or a $10,000 fine. The goal of the bad check program is to put victims of bad checks first and ensure they get the money owed them. The program works because:

• Bad check reports are easy to file and follow-up action is prompt
• Upon recovery, 100 percent of the face value of the check is returned to the victim
• There is no minimum dollar restriction
• Bad check offenders must complete an eight-hour educational class at their own   expense
• The program operates at no cost to the County or the taxpayers

Here is how the merchant can protect themselves:

1. Institute a check acceptance policy. A clearly posted check acceptance policy for your employees and customers can go a long way toward reducing your losses. Accept checks written only with today's date. Post dated checks are civil matters and are not accepted in the Sonoma County District Attorney Bad Check Restitution Program. Trust your instincts! If something does not seem right, ask questions or ask for another form of payment. You are not obligated to accept a check.
2. If you receive a check that is returned to you for non-sufficient funds, make personal contact with the check writer. If you are unsuccessful, send a certified return receipt courtesy notice advising of the returned check. The check writer then has ten days to respond to your notification and remit payment. If you do not hear from the check writer or receive payment, simply contact the Bad Check Restitution Program at (888) 892-1376 to request a bad check crime report. When you receive the crime report from the program, fill it out and attach originals of all bad checks and notification documents. The program staff can assist you with any questions you have about the process. Retain photocopies of the materials for your records, and mail the completed crime report form and its attachments to:

   Sonoma County District Attorney
   Bad Check Restitution Program
   PO Box 8549
   Santa Rosa, California 95407

3. When the program receives your materials, it will evaluate them to determine whether the bad check is eligible to be handled by the program. Checks ineligible for the program may be pursued via the small claims court process or by a private collection agency. If the program determines that the check is eligible, it will contact the check writer and afford him or her the opportunity to avoid criminal prosecution by paying full restitution to you while attending a mandatory eight hour intervention class. All of this is accomplished without any cost to you or the taxpayers. If the check writer successfully completes the program requirements, then you will be made whole and the check writer will have avoided the potential for criminal prosecution. If, however, the program is unsuccessful in obtaining your restitution, it will forward the materials to the Office of the District Attorney for review for criminal prosecution.

If the check is not eligible for the program, the merchant should report the case to the local law enforcement agency to institute criminal proceedings.