Bitcoin Forum

Please don't refer me to a real laywer, I'm just looking for those that portray one the on the Interwebs.   ;D

My friend accepted a check for BTC.  Yea, newbie move.  Anyhow, as you guessed it... check made "boing" sound upon deposit.  :o

So, just curious if he were to pursue this to get back his magic Internet money, would it be a civil suite or a criminal offense?

I could be mistaken but I'm pretty sure the amount of money that was supposed to be transacted plays a role when deciding how it gets handled.  I'm thinking a small amount like under $2000 is in small claims.  Sorry for your friend but hopefully it taught him a valuable lesson and all those reading this thread.

The infraction was $2,300 & crosses state lines making it more of a headache.

The bank charged him $35 for the bounced check, that's like kicking a man in the nuts while he's knocked out.  :-\

Criminal charges wont get you a cent.

Civil lawsuit is doable.

Your friend is retarded i would not put any effort on this since it was so easily avoidable.

He's been on the phone all morning with his bank.

I agree, this is more like tuition toward higher learning.  Just bite the cost.

id say try everything!!

start with the stuff that the cops can deal with, as that stuff is free, then look into the stuff involving civil courts as thats where it starts costing you money. even think about getting debt recovery agencies involved.

not sure which country you are in but writing a cheque that is known to bounce is an offense in many places. so theres one thing
taking property without payment is theft. there is another
so think up as many wrong doings as this person has done and try every path you can.

People still write and pay with checks?!!!?   ??? :o :o

I kid, but not really.  Why didn't your boy just buy it from LocalBitcoins or Coinbase?

If I were you, I'd just tell him "tough lesson learned".

Well this is a new one. Did your friend happen to look at the ID to verify the identity of the person? It's pretty typical, if you're not taking a check from a friend, to write down the ID number and SSN on the check. If he didn't do that I would just assume the check was stolen and you can do nothing. If you have the info and are in the U.S. then contact your local District Attorney's Office. They have the jurisdiction and as a rule vehemently attack check fraud.

If you are in the US a bad check in that amount is a felony in most states. Threatening the buyer with felony criminal charges may be enough to get the BTC back.  

Yep, United States.  No ID verification just cashed it and held tightly on his BTC.  Friend thought it went through next morning so he sent the BTC.  

Within an hour, the check bounced.  :o

ID verification might be an issue. I used to help out my father in law in the summers with his law practice. In that particular state you needed a SSN or drivers license number to prosecute someone criminally. I would check the laws in your state and maybe contact the local sheriffs office to make a police report and get a sense of the options available.

If the transaction in question happened in the US then it most likely could be either one. If your friend thinks the person who wrote the bad check has assets that could potentially be seized by the court system then a civil case would likely be in order as your friend would be able to recover the amount he is owed plus the amount he spent in collecting (court costs, attorney's fees, ect). If your friend is not sure as to the amount of the buyer's assets or he thinks the buyer is likely not in possession of enough assets to cover the bad check then a criminal case would be in order. The charges would likely be something along the lines of 'obtaining property by false pretenses' or 'writing a bad check' (yes this is illegal). If criminal charges are brought then the other person would likely be facing roughly a month (maybe somewhat longer) of jailtime (depending on state law).

Follow-up:  Check was stolen, therefore, no recourse. 

You still would have recourse, although the chances of finding the person are greatly reduced. If the check was stolen then criminal charges would certainly be in order. You could still press civil charges however often times a criminal conviction means that restitution is given to the victim, the risk is however that the burden of proof is higher for a criminal conviction then is needed to win a civil case

My pal was full throttle on going after his money but after he found out the check was stolen, then it seems the effort to pursue would have exceeded the of the value.

Thanks for the input, you seem to know your stuff.  ;D

Did you write down the drivers license number of the person who gave you the check? Did you look at the ID of the person at all? (doing this is fairly standard when businesses will accept a check from someone)

See below for what questionauthority says about getting your money back if you did do this.

I went to the police after getting a bad check written on a closed account and after they finished making lots of noise about how they were going to hunt down the culprit and prosecute them for fraud they didn't do a god damned thing.