Worthless Checks Prosecution

The Check Department of the Office of the District Attorney is responsible for administering the District Attorney’s obligations under the State Law for Issuing Worthless Checks.  Typically this involves working with Merchants who have accepted a check for payment of goods and services only to discover that the check was issued on an account which had insufficient funds or was closed.

Check Department
Governmental Building
222 St. Louis St., Suite 502
Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Tel. (225) 389-3411
Fax. (225) 389-7860

The following forms will allow you to file a "worthless check" complaint with our office. Please read the instructions carefully. Before you contact our office with a worthless check complaint you must send the "10 Day Demand Letter" and complete the "Allegation Form":

• Instructions
• Sample 10-Day Demand Letter
• Allegation Form

FOR MERCHANTS:

Please obtain a Check Affidavit Package from the Check Department (or download the files above).

1. You will need to provide the department with the original check that has been returned from the bank and has 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 the Parish of East Baton Rouge.
3. You must provide us with the name and 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 social security number.
6. You must provide the department with a copy of the legally required “10 Day Demand Letter” as well as the original certified mail return receipt.
7. Our department can not prosecute a check writer if you have entered into any agreements with the check writer concerning payment of the check or a loan of the check amount.
8. Checks that can not be prosecuted by law include those issued as part of a loan agreement, those that have been pre- or post-dated, those involving transactions for other than goods and services, and those which have been “stopped” due to disagreements between the merchant and the check writer.

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.

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. Our office cannot accept cash or personal checks.