Bad Checks Charges in Las Vegas

Under Nevada law, a person writes a bad check if they willfully intended to defraud an entity or another person at the time the check was written. A check is also considered bad if the person knew or had reason to know that there would be insufficient funds in the account when the person or entity tried to redeem the check.

The seriousness of the crime of writing a bad check can range from a simple misdemeanor up to a serious felony. If the amount of the check in question is less than $250, then the alleged crime would be a misdemeanor. However, if the check is more than $250, then a person can be charged with a felony.

In Las Vegas, there is a “bad check” division of Clark County DA’s office that helps businesses and casinos collect on bad checks and casino marker-debt. Recall that Nevada treats unpaid casino marker-debt and bad check debt as the same thing.

If you are contacted by the DA about a bad check or casino marker, you must contact a Las Vegas lawyer immediately because you only have 10 days to respond to a notice from the Clark County bad check division. If you fail to respond, a warrant will be issued for your arrest.

You will either have to pay the required restitution or your lawyer can attempt to get the charges reduced or dismissed.

In the state of Nevada, you can be arrested for failure to pay a bad check or a casino debt. Under NRS 205.135 there is a presumption that you had the intent to defraud the other party unless you pay the money within 5 days of receiving notification that there are insufficient funds to cover the check or marker.

The current position on the Nevada Supreme Court is that markers will be treated like checks in criminal prosecution. As a result, there are a lot more casino marker cases when it comes to bad check cases. There are still people working on the constitutionality of the Nevada Supreme Court decision, but so far the position that markers are treated as checks in criminal cases is the law in Nevada.

You must speak to a criminal defense attorney in order to find out all of your options. A good rule of thumb is to contact the casino or party to inform them about insufficient funds. You will be surprised at how willing creditors are willing to work with you if you are upfront about the situation.

If the DA has the case, then you need to contact them through an experienced attorney immediately. It is best to have a lawyer negotiate for you because maybe the restitution could be lowered or the case could be entirely dismissed.

The longer you wait, the more it is likely that additional fees will be added and more charges will pile up. Call a lawyer to get a full explanation of your rights.

Remember that civil court and criminal court are two distinct and separate proceedings. Under Nevada law, it is a criminal offense to pass bad checks. Even if you are able to get rid of the debt in a bankruptcy proceeding, it does not immediately end the criminal proceeding. You need to hire an experienced Las Vegas lawyer to help you get rid of the criminal charges if the debt has already been taken care of in bankruptcy court.

Talk to an experienced lawyer about defending yourself against Las Vegas bad check allegations. Make sure that you take care of your bad checks in Las Vegas because you will incur civil and criminal penalties if you do not take care of Las Vegas bad checks.