H. B. 2754
(By Delegates Kominar, Dalton and Stemple)
[Introduced March 26, 1997; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section thirty-nine, article three,
chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to crimes
against property; worthless checks; creating the felony
offense of obtaining property in return for a check drawn on
a closed or nonexistent account; specifying penalties
therefor based on the face amount of the check, draft or
order; reducing from five hundred dollars to three hundred
dollars the amount specified for the felony offense of
knowingly passing a check, draft or order drawn on an
account with insufficient funds; specifying an additional
felony offense of knowingly passing multiple checks on an
account with insufficient funds if the checks are written
within a thirty-day period and aggregate three hundred dollars or more; and providing penalties therefor.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirty-nine, article three, chapter sixty-one
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty- one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY.
§61-3-39. Obtaining property in return for worthless check;
penalty.
(a)(1) It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to
obtain any money, services, goods or other property or thing of
value by means of a check, draft or order for the payment of
money or its equivalent upon any bank or other depository,
knowing at the time of the making, drawing, issuing, uttering or
delivering of the check, draft or order that there is are not
sufficient funds on deposit in or credit with such bank or other
depository with which to pay the same upon presentation. The
making, drawing, issuing, uttering or delivery delivering of any
such check, draft or order, for or on behalf of any corporation,
or its name, by any officer or agent of such corporation, shall
subject such officer or agent to the penalties of this section to
the same extent as though such check, draft or order was his or
her own personal act, when such agent or officer knows that such
corporation does not have sufficient funds on deposit in or
credit with such bank or depository from which such check, draft or order can legally be paid upon presentment.
(2) This section shall subsection does not apply to any such
check, draft or order when the payee or holder knows or has been
expressly notified prior to the acceptance of same or has reason
to believe that the drawer did not have on deposit or to his or
her credit with the drawee sufficient funds to insure payment as
aforesaid, nor shall does this section subsection apply to any
postdated check, draft or order.
(3) No prosecution shall may be confined to the provisions
of this section by virtue of the fact that worthless checks,
drafts or orders may be employed in the commission of some other
criminal act.
(4) A Any person who violates the provisions of this section
subsection, if the amount of the check, draft or order is less
than five three hundred dollars, is guilty of a misdemeanor and,
upon conviction thereof, the person shall be fined not more than
two hundred dollars, or confined in the county or regional jail
not more than six months, or both. A Any person who violates the
provisions of this section subsection, if the amount of the
check, draft or order is five three hundred dollars or more, or,
if the total of the face amount of more than one check, draft, or
order written by the same person within a thirty-day period is
three hundred dollars or more, is guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction thereof, the person shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the penitentiary not less than
one year nor more than ten years, or both.
(b) In addition to any other penalty provided by law, any
person, firm, or corporation that knowingly makes, draws, issues,
utters or delivers any check, draft or order for the payment
money or its equivalent, upon any bank or other depository, which
check is dishonored because the account upon which it is drawn is
closed or otherwise nonexistent, is guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than five hundred
dollars, imprisoned not less that one year nor more than three
years, or both, if the amount of the check, draft or order is
less than one hundred dollars. Any person who violates the
provisions of this subsection, if the amount of the check, draft
or order is one hundred dollars or more, is guilty of a felony
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one
thousand dollars, imprisoned not less than one year nor more than
five years, or both.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a felony
offense for passing checks, drafts or orders that are drawn on a
closed or nonexistent account. This bill also reduces the amount
specified for the felony offense of knowingly passing a check,
draft or order drawn on an account with insufficient funds from
$500.00 to $300.00 and specifies an additional felony offense of
passing multiple checks on an account with insufficient funds if
the checks are written within a thirty-day period and aggregate
$300.00 or more.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.