worthless checks

The mission of the Worthless Check Department of the Office of the District Attorney is to recover funds owed to merchants from patrons who issued worthless checks in the course of business.  Typically, this involves working with merchants who have accepted a check for payment of goods and services only to discover the check was issued on an account which had insufficient funds or was closed.

Check Department
Ouachita Parish Courthouse Annex
400 St. John Street
Monroe, LA 71202
Tel. (318) 322-4664
Fax. (318) 327-1435

The following document explains how to file a "worthless check" complaint with our office. Please read the instructions carefully. The Worthless Check Report may be filled out and printed. Before you contact our office with a worthless check complaint, you must send the "10 Day Demand Letter" and complete the "Worthless Check Report":

Sample 10 Day Demand Letter
Worthless Check Report

FOR MERCHANTS:
Please obtain a checks package from the Check Department or download the file above.

1. You will need to provide the department with the original check that has been returned from the bank with the proper bank processing stamps: NSF/ACCOUNT CLOSED/INSUFFICIENT FUNDS
2. The check must have been accepted by you or your employee at a location in Ouachita or Morehouse Parish.
3. You must provide us with the name, address and telephone number of your employee who actually received the check and who must be willing to testify to those facts at trial.
4. The check must have been exchanged for goods and services actually provided by you to the check writer.
5. Your employee must have collected proof of the check writer’s identification at the time of acceptance of the check, such as driver’s license information (a contemporaneous copy is preferred), birth date, and expiration date of driver’s license.
6. You must provide the department with a copy of the legally required “10 Day Demand Letter” mailed to the address on the check as well as the original certified mail return receipt.
7. Our check department will not accept a check for prosecution if you have entered into any agreements with the check writer concerning payment of the check or other financial transactions.
8. Checks that will not be accepted by our Check Department include those which have been pre or post-dated, those involving transactions for other than goods and services, and those which have been “stopped” due to a disagreement between the merchant and check writer about the quality of goods and services provided.
9. Checks that are not accepted by our Check Department may still be prosecuted by other sections of the District Attorney's Office when sufficient proof of a criminal act exists.

FOR CHECK WRITERS
Intentionally writing one “worthless” check can constitute a crime punishable by imprisonment at hard labor. It is in your best interest to quickly resolve any payment issues you have with a merchant about a check you have written. Understand that once the Office of the District Attorney has received a worthless check for prosecution, in addition to the full amount of restitution due the merchant, you will also be required to pay the fines, fees, and court costs which accrue. Once the check has been turned into the District Attorney’s Office, restitution cannot be paid to merchant.

NOTE: Any payments made to the District Attorney's Office, including those for worthless checks, must be made in the form of a money order, cashier checks or cash. If paying with cash, you must have the exact amount. Our office does not accept personal checks.