Each year, Solano County businesses suffer thousands of dollars in losses due to bad checks. As you know, these losses can be devastating. Bad checks affect everyone and result in higher consumer costs in addition to increased costs for law enforcement and prosecution. Make no mistake; unlawfully passing a bad check is a crime!
As your District Attorney, I am committed to utilizing the resources of my office to reduce the harmful impact which bad checks have on our economy. In 1993, the Bad Check Restitution Program was established to assist merchants and individuals in fighting back against bad check writers. Since then, the Program has returned over $2.7 million in restitution to local businesses and other victims.
My goal is to continue to increase the accountability of those who pass bad checks without increasing any administrative or financial burden on the criminal justice system. We employ a multi-faceted approach that includes: assistance in recovering money lost to bad checks, pursuit and prosecution of check offenders who refuse to make restitution, and a variety of training programs and preventive check acceptance measures designed to reduce the number of bad checks that end up in businesses, and, finally, a mandatory education component to help check offenders avoid writing and passing any future bad checks.
The Program requires bad check writers to pay full restitution and complete a special education and intervention class regarding their personal accountability and financial responsibility as citizens. And, because bad check offenders pay the entire cost of the Program, there is NO COST to merchants and other victims and NO COST to Solano County taxpayers.
If bad checks are a concern to you and your business, I encourage you to participate in the Bad Check Restitution Program. To take advantage, you need only register. There is no cost to you, and you will receive 100% restitution on any check we are successful in recovering – plus any bank charges. You can register on-line or download a Registration Form. It takes only a moment. Within a few days of registering, we will send you a packet of information and materials that can reduce the number of bad checks you receive and help you recover restitution on the bad checks that get through.
I invite you to try the Bad Check Restitution Program. I am confident that active participation in the Program will benefit your "bottom line." Working together, we will also provide a valuable service to all law-abiding citizens of Solano County.
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