If you take a check to the bank to verify if it's fraudulent can you be charged with a felony?


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So I received this check in the mail by a company called Stonebridge (a division of Clark) and it was made out to me with my name and address on it, it was made for $2,783 and it was drawn on Fifth Third Bank in Lexington, KY. I went up to Fifth Third, which is where I bank, and asked the teller to verify if...


Banks in Lexington, KY



Answer (4):

 
Ranger4402

IF you really take a check to a bank to determine if it is real then that is not fraud. If you learn it is a forgery and you try to deposit it then that is fraud. But if you learn it is a forgery and turn it over to the bank or the police then you are in the clear.

It used to be very common for people to get a check and call the bank on the check and ask if there is money in the account to cover it. The bank would tell you yes or no and that was that. The bank would not tell you the balance in the account. It would tell you if there was enough move to cover it. People did this to prevent depositing bad checks. Heck, they'd even call the bank on people they knew if they suspected this person was trying to pass a bad check.

I don't know if banks do that anymore. But if I were in your boat I would have told the bank I received this check in the mail. I think it might be fake. How do we handle this without causing any trouble for me or you or the bank?

 
MEGGO

I know personally in the state of Alabama, any check cashed or deposited for over $499.99 is a felony and you can get in big trouble. You should have never tried to do anything with this check; any check that you weren't aware that you were getting, you should have called the company and asked what it was for. Get a good lawyer and specify that you honestly didn't know what it was for, and you asked the teller what she thought and she went ahead and ran it. Hopefully, you'll get it dropped, but you may not be so lucky. Check fraud is a serious crime.

 
goz1111

I agree, consult a lawyer, so they can objectively review all the facts;

In my opinion, your main problem is the fact you testified it was a “payroll” check, which means you acknowledge you where an employee of that company , going to be hard to convince the DA you did not know the difference between a payroll check, and a personal check

Now if you had been a sent a personal check, from a third party and sought to inquire if it was legit is one thing vs. clamming it was a payroll check which you tried to cash

Hire a lawyer,

 
The Arbiter of common sense

It is impossible to answer this question due to the important information which you did NOT provide. Since there would have been no reason for them to even cal the police, the story doesn't make any sense. You are obviously not telling us the whole story, including WHY you were arrested. Police do not 'cuff' people for no reason, they have to have a valid reason.