A person who writes a check in the state of Nevada must have enough money in their account to cover the check. It is known as a bad check, and the person who issued it could face the consequences if the check is determined to be insufficient because there is not enough money.
When you know there isn’t enough money in your account to meet the amount, and it is illegal in Nevada to send a check for payment. It is also illegal to take money from a casino and then break your word about paying the marker’s worth back. You may be detained and charged with a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the amount of the check or casino marker.
When a check is involved, the violation is frequently referred to as passing a bad check and is denoted by the abbreviation NSF. It is typically referred to as a casino marker when the violation includes a line of credit with a casino.
Bad check passers are frequently also accused of related offenses like burglary, grand larceny, or theft. For more details, please visit the websites we have dedicated to each of those fees.
A person can learn of an issue for the first time when they hear from the Clark County District Attorney’s Office’s Bad Check Unit. The letter will provide details on the bad check or casino marker in question as well as a deadline by which the recipient must get in touch with the Bad Check Unit to avoid facing criminal charges.
In such cases, it is essential to involve a criminal defense lawyer to resolve the case as soon as possible. You won’t need to be concerned about being arrested, imprisoned, fined, or convicted because doing so frequently results in no criminal charges being brought against you. You can essentially carry on with your life as painlessly as possible.
Pre-charge representation is what it is called when you hire a lawyer at this point because there isn’t yet a criminal case in progress, and the objective is to prevent any criminal charges from ever being brought.
What Other Issues Should I Consider?
In other cases, a person will learn about the problem for the first time when they interact with law enforcement for an unconnected reason, such as a normal traffic check, and are informed that they have an active warrant for their arrest, also known as an arrest warrant, in the system. When they apply for a new job, and the case appears on their background check, other individuals learn about the problem.
When a case reaches this point, a criminal case is already pending. There will also be an outstanding arrest warrant directing police to locate the subject and present them to the judge who issued the warrant. People can occasionally go years without ever knowing that they have an active arrest warrant since neither the police nor the court notify people when they file for arrest warrants.
These situations frequently result in an arrest warrant because the business or person who took the bad check didn’t realize immediately that there weren’t enough funds in the drafter’s account to pay the check’s full amount. Instead, they learned that the check did not clear after attempting to deposit it and hearing from their bank; as a result, they only reported the incident to the police days, weeks, or months later. In these circumstances, the police are required to launch, complete, and then provide a written affidavit to a judge summarizing their findings.
The police will ask for an arrest warrant at the end of the affidavit. The judge then examines the data offered by the police and, presuming there was sufficient justification for issuing an arrest warrant, approves their request.
A person must either be arrested, self-surrender to law enforcement, or be scheduled to appear before the judge in order to satisfy a warrant once it has been issued. We never advise anyone to self-surrender or wait until they are arrested.
It is usually advantageous for someone who is not in jail to appear before the judge on their own initiative because it demonstrates to the judge that you are not evading the charges and that you are acting responsibly. But to do that, you’ll need to work with a criminal defense lawyer, who can then create a motion asking for the bond to be reduced or removed totally, depending on the situation. As long as the motion has the required documentation and backing, it is approved in full or part.
When Is Writing a Check Without Money in My Account Illegal?
Writing a check without having enough money to cover it is against Nevada state law if the writer:
- Willfully wants to defraud; and
- Passes a check to purchase goods, services, or money; or
- Draws a check in order to purchase goods, services, or money
What Exactly Does Fraud Mean?
Fraud is the intentional deception of a victim or false representation of the truth to induce compliance from the victim. A different person, a company, or a financial institution could be the victim.
What Do You Mean by Intent to Defraud?
When someone writes a check with the intent to defraud, even if they know there isn’t enough money in the account to cover it, they make it seem as though they have enough money for the victim. A person does not intend to defraud if they write a check in the belief that they have the funds to cover it.
What Are a Few Typical Bad Check Crimes?
When someone refers to a “bad check,” they typically mean one that was linked to an account with insufficient funds. They might also be referring to a check already running out of money. To be held accountable for a crime in a legal setting, the person must knowingly commit the offense.
Bad check crimes can happen when someone willfully does something like:
- Utilizing a modified check (for instance, changing the amount written on the check)
- Utilizing a fake check or creating one
- Utilizing a fake check
- Utilizing check fraud techniques, such as overdraft and check kiting,
- Giving false information about a check or bank account
- Using an invalid check to purchase a piece of personal property is one of the most frequent crimes.
Once they get the item, the perpetrator may leave town or vanish. Accounting and business-related offenses are among the other crimes.
What Is the Penalty in Nevada for Passing a Bad Check?
A misdemeanor is committed if the bad check amount is less than $650. Misdemeanors are punished as follows:
- A year in county jail
- $1,000 fine
- Both county jail and fine
The offense is a high misdemeanor if the check is for $650 or more and is meant to pay wages. This offense carries the following punishment:
- County jail for 364 days
- $2,000 fine
- Both the fine and prison time
The offense is a category D felony if the phony check is for $650 or more and was not issued to pay wages. A category D felony carries a sentence of one to four years in jail.
Can a Lawyer Assist Me?
It’s awful enough to be suspected of writing a bad check; the last thing you need is to be charged with a crime for the check. Your bad check charge in Nevada can be resolved with the aid of a Nevada fraud attorney.
