Not Enough Money in Your Account? Writing Bad Checks in Virginia May Land You in Jail

Have you been charged with writing bad checks in Virginia? When checks are written with insufficient funds in the bank, it is considered a crime in Virginia.

Virginia Code §18.2-181 indicates that any person who intends to defraud, makes or delivers a check, knowing that there are insufficient funds to cover it, is guilty of larceny.

Writing bad checks in the Commonwealth of Virginia can be considered a felony offense or a misdemeanor.

As you may already know, the level of fraud will depend on the type of offense. For example, if you wrote a bad check for under $200, it would be considered a Class 1 misdemeanor. However, if you wrote a bad check for over $200, then this would be considered a crime and tried as a Class 6 felony offense, with a prison term.

There are several codes under Virginia law that pertain to bad check offenses, including codes that deal with issuing bad checks as larceny, issuing bad checks as payment of taxes, and issuing bad checks as payment of wages on behalf of a business. These different forms of writing bad checks are charged in a number of different ways.

What are the penalties for writing a bad check?

If you are charged with writing bad checks in the Commonwealth of Virginia, you may receive anywhere from 12 months to five years in prison, depending upon the seriousness of the crime. You can also be charged up to $2,500 as a fine. Also, the recipient of the bad check is entitled to the amount of the check and could be permitted to pursue up to three times the amount of the check plus a $25 processing fee.

What should you do now?

Given the seriousness of the crime, you should contact a Northern Virginia criminal defense attorney to handle your check fraud case. Hire an attorney who has previously handled bad check cases in Northern Virginia, specializes is in theft, larceny, and fraud, and is a skilled VA criminal defense lawyer. By hiring someone who has previously tried several cases of this nature, you will ensure that you receive the best results, as an experienced lawyer will use all the defenses and trial strategies available for your case.

A skilled attorney should investigate your case, interview witnesses, and gather all the evidence that was collected. Witnesses are one of the most critical components of your case, as witness testimony could be considered as facts.

Contact the experienced Manassas criminal defense lawyers at the Wilson Law Firm at (703) 361-6100 and speak with a knowledgeable Northern Virginia criminal defense lawyer today.

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The lawyers of The Wilson Law Firm have traveled Virginia’s several interstates helping clients just like you - appearing in courts all across the Commonwealth of Virgnia - from Virginia Beach and Norfolk in the southeast, to Wise County in the southwest, all the way up I-81 to Frederick County / Winchester in the northwest, and all the way across Warren County, Fauquier County, Prince William County, and Fairfax County on the way to Arlington County and the City of Alexandria in the northeast. The Wilson Law Firm regularly serves Prince William County, the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park, the towns of Haymarket, Fauquier County, Stafford County, Spotsylvania County, the city of Fredericksburg, Loudoun County, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, the city of Falls Church, Arlington County, the City of Alexandria, Culpeper County, Warren County, Clark County, Frederick County and the city of Winchester.