NSF check and Bankruptcy

[HopeinHorizon]

I filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on 10/14, and have had my 341, and am sitting around praying for 2/17/06 to come and go without incident, so that I can begin rebuilding the life, I lost a while ago....

Anyway, I listed NSF checks in my bankruptcy... my lawyer DID advise me that I wouldn't have to pay the debt, but because it was over my states criminal level, a company could prosecute in criminal court instead of civil.

I don't know if anyone here knows this answer, but before they would slap me with a misdameanor or a felony, would they have to contact me and give me so many days to pay like a restitution type period, or could they just go to court tomorrow and file charges, and then it show up on my criminal record??

I don't really know how the criminal side works AT ALL... never have been in trouble my whole life... I keep putting money in savings, so if something is brought up with the checks, I can pay them right away..

So I guess, will I be contacted and given a period to save myself from a criminal charge, or have I already had the chance to make them good, and now if they choose to charge me the court will oblige...???

Thanks for your help in advance,
Liz

[StaciMM]

I don't know for sure, but I don't think they can send a bill or anything similar, due to the BK.

[lostsoul23]

Having encountered this in my own BK, I was told that BK will stop the collection of the amount of the check that was written, however, it DOES NOT stop the prosecution of writing a bad check. (At least in Ohio.) Typically, when a check bounces, the place it "bounced too" would send you some type of demand letter, stating the check was presented, returned NSF, etc. But, as Staci mentioned, since it's technically a bill, they can't very well send you anything because the BK puts the automatic stay in place. Unless you just went hog wild with writing checks, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I do, however, think you're playing it smart with putting the funds aside "just in case." Nonetheless, checks usually end up going through the civil process and warrants aren't issued until you don't show up for court.

Best of luck.

[FilingOnMyOwn]

Just out of curiousity, approximately how much are these checks for and about how much do they total? And, how long has it been since you wrote them.

[pink_amulet]

I filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on 10/14, and have had my 341, and am sitting around praying for 2/17/06 to come and go without incident, so that I can begin rebuilding the life, I lost a while ago....

Anyway, I listed NSF checks in my bankruptcy... my lawyer DID advise me that I wouldn't have to pay the debt, but because it was over my states criminal level, a company could prosecute in criminal court instead of civil.

I don't know if anyone here knows this answer, but before they would slap me with a misdameanor or a felony, would they have to contact me and give me so many days to pay like a restitution type period, or could they just go to court tomorrow and file charges, and then it show up on my criminal record??

I don't really know how the criminal side works AT ALL... never have been in trouble my whole life... I keep putting money in savings, so if something is brought up with the checks, I can pay them right away..

So I guess, will I be contacted and given a period to save myself from a criminal charge, or have I already had the chance to make them good, and now if they choose to charge me the court will oblige...???

Thanks for your help in advance,
Liz

Class A misdemeanor of deceptive practices.
My sentence was as follows :

[jennga]

How awful, pregnant and handcuffed. That is more of a crime than writing a bad check to Walmart for God's sake. Glad it all worked out for you PinkA.

[FilingOnMyOwn]

Well, Wal-mart sure as hell didn't get to be the largest retailer in the world by playing mr. nice guy. I used to like wal-mart when I first went there, over time my opinions and attitudes have changed, it has the makings of an evil empire

[HopeinHorizon]

Well My NSF checks were for online gambling... STUPID STUPID STUPID...

They all add up to about $3000, because I thought I could win the money and pay everything including my bills... I just can't believe I was so desparate as to do that in my life....

They were all to written to foreign countries... Canada and places like Antigua...

I just don't know what to do, I don't have a TON of money, and with filing I don't have any credit. I was just going to start saving money and if they were going to bring criminal charges against me I would pay, but now I am not sure that is a good idea...

Can foreign countries prosecute me for the bad checks?

I wrote the checks like May-June of this year, and filed in October... I just feel so stupid writing this all out, I was so out of control, and didn't even realize it then...

[StaciMM]

On the bright side, if the companies that you wrote the checks to were overseas, I'd think it not likely for them to pursue criminal charges. It would be time & money for them...

[HopeinHorizon]

My bankruptcy attorney wasn't a lot of help with it, maybe I should consult someone who deals with laws about collection of debts specifically NSF checks...

I just wondered if someone on here knew the process... There were 3 different places, so I don't think I over 1000 to any one place. Maybe the US red tape and overseas prosecution would be too much for them to make an issue, that is what I am hoping anyway, so that I can really start fresh from bankruptcy...


I wonder how antigua would go about getting us criminal charges, when the transaction took place over the internet... who's juristiction would that be?!?

[StaciMM]

That is a good question... Just to be safe, stay out of Antigua!

[HopeinHorizon]

yea and canada (which will be harder, because its only a 4 hour drive)

I think I can manage the antigua thing though... I would need money to get there, which I don't have... I wish I knew for sure whether I should worry about those checks...

Almost worth the 3k for piece of mind, but where would I get the money... ack!

[FilingOnMyOwn]

I'm surprised they even take foreign personal checks But if that was my situation, I would certainly look into it, but I wouldn't spend a dime doing so or even be at all worried about it. No one is going to deport you to another country to be prosecuted for it, and I'm not sure what laws, if any, or where, would apply to that. And the reason being they are based outside of the US is most likely because their business is illegal here. So them trying to prosecute you here in the US, would be like your local drug dealer trying to use the legal system to collect on a bad personal check from you; it would simply never happen. Kind of like on the show Cops, when someone calls the cops because they tried to buy drugs and got ripped off of their money lol. Who knows if these people even would have paid you had you won anything. Many of those websites are probably fly by nite, the operators closing one down and reopening them into other ones constantly

[HopeinHorizon]

Filing... what you says makes a lot of sense... I just never thought about it like that. A lot of the casinos partner up with check clearing houses which are all not in the United States to cash and redeem credits...

Paypal used to be a clearinghouse to do gambling transactions and the United states put the heat on them, and now they won't let you transfer money to a gambling related site... I wonder if Paypal is in the US and thats why they were able to stop them from doing it...

But basically, if I owed a drug dealer 1000, he isn't going to march up to the court and try to get a felony on me... and you feel that the same thing would apply to these foreign check clearing houses and casinos??

I still might waste a couple bucks and talk to an attorney about it, but I don't want to shell out the money for the checks. I am ready to get this all behind me...

[HopeinHorizon]

Paypal is based in California just found out... I guess the theory is still holding true... I am about to go get the countries these other check clearing houses are located to make sure none of them are in the states...