YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
by Karen E. Culp
SBJ Staff
Some checks just don't check out, unfortunately.
The Greene County prosecutor's office dedicates four of its staff members to bad checks, said Prosecuting Attorney Ron Carrier.
The type of check whether the check is a bad check returned by the bank to the merchant who accepted it, or a counterfeit check, one that is not drawn on an actual bank or account determines the way the situation is handled.
Counterfeit checks are processed as a Class C felony under Missouri law, Carrier said, or can be considered stealing by deceit.
"We investigate the issue and see what it warrants," Carrier said.
Though the number of bad check complaints processed in the prosecuting attorney's office has risen over the past several years, so has the number of criminal charges filed. In 1993, there were 11,893 complaints; in 1995 there were 17,675; and in 1997 there were 19,757. The number of criminal charges for bad checks was 897 in 1993; 1,489 in 1995; and 2,288 in 1997, Carrier said.
"We have taken the approach of dealing with this as a criminal act. One of our problems is the businesses not taking identification at the time of the transaction. Without that information, we cannot hope to resolve the matter," Carrier said.
Another problem was a business' not having a designated person who could identify the writer of a check. But a new form, which asks for the clerk who accepted the check to sign saying he or she did accept that check, or can identify the check writer, has helped to alleviate that problem, Carrier said. That new form has been used since June.
"We were seeing situations where management had filled out the complaint form, and the clerk who worked the transaction had no idea his or her name was used, or could not, in fact, identify the check writer," Carrier said.
Bad checks, and any type of check fraud, is an issue that needs to be addressed community-wide, Carrier said.
"Banks need to be careful, too, in opening accounts. Businesses need to be vigilant about taking identification," Carrier said.
Many grocery stores and other merchants now have signs at their check-out counters indicating that they cooperate with the prosecutor's office and will ask for identification at the time a customer writes a check.
"We ask that people really look at the check. Is there anything unusual? Is it in fact drawn on a bank you know of? Does the person in front of you look like the person on the identification presented?" Carrier said.
Bad checks can be either a Class A misdemeanor, which can bring a year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine, or a Class D felony, which can bring five years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine.
Though the problem in Greene County has grown, it is not a problem that cannot be dealt with properly, Carrier said, and as Springfield grows, the problem is going to increase.
"As with any growing community, everything increases with the size of the town. More and more people are coming to the area, so more and more of these types of problems will arise," Carrier said.
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