QUESTION
If I have received bad checks from an individual in loan repayments, is it punishable by prison time or is my only recourse to sue this individual?
Asked on Aug 12th, 2013 on Civil Litigation - Texas
More details to this question:
I am a 68 year old citizen of Austin, Texas. Within the past two years, I have loaned a relative (by marriage) over $34,000 in the form of cash, checks, or payments through one of my credit cards. In repayment, 5 checks have been written and given to me or deposited into my account totaling $38,000. All checks for repayment have been returned to me as insufficient funds. The accounts the checks were written from never had the amounts available for the checks to be good. Is this a crime (against the elderly) punishable by prison time or is my only recourse to sue this individual to get some sort of justice, or possible recovery of my losses?
1 ANSWER
Kevin Spencer
If the funds were never sufficient to cover the checks, then writing and delivering them with the intent that they be cashed is a crime. It is not, however, a crime against the elderly, but, rather, it is a criminal offense to write "hot checks" if there was and is never any intent that the funds be sufficient to cover the face amount of the check. You will need to contact your local district attorney to discuss the situation and see if that office is interested in prosecuting.
It is, however, also a civil matter. You would have a claim against the person writing the checks for repayment of the money he received from you, assuming you have properly documented the loans.
Unfortunately, while $38,000.00 is a lot of money, it is not a lot in the context of litigation, so you may find some difficulty in finding an attorney to assist you.
Answered on Aug 12th, 2013 at 7:45 PM