Accused of a bad check or benefit fraud? The case turns on what you knew and what you meant
I am Mitchell Bisson, a Grand Rapids criminal defense lawyer. I have litigated for over 15 years. This page covers the charges I see when a check bounces, a bank card is overdrawn, or a state agency says someone took welfare, food assistance or unemployment benefits they were not owed. In all of them the prosecutor has to prove a guilty state of mind, not just a bad result. I prepare every case as if it will be tried. I do not promise outcomes.
The short answer. A check that bounces is not a crime by itself. Under MCL 750.131 the prosecutor must prove intent to defraud, and a person who honestly expected the check to be paid has not committed the offense. Benefit fraud has the same center: a false statement or a failure to report, made knowingly. An overpayment from an agency mistake is a debt problem, and a criminal case needs more. Nothing here predicts how your case will end.
Michigan check, card and benefit fraud charges at a glance
The table lists the charges in this area with the penalty the statute sets. A maximum is a ceiling, not a prediction. Your record, the guidelines and the facts decide where a real sentence falls.
| Charge | What it covers | Penalty | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check without sufficient funds, under $100 | Making or delivering a check with intent to defraud, knowing funds were short, or with funds short when presented | First offense, misdemeanor, up to 93 days or $500, or both; with a prior, up to 1 year or $1,000, or both | MCL 750.131(3)(a) |
| Same, $100 to under $500 | Same conduct | First or second offense, misdemeanor, up to 1 year or $1,000 or 3 times the amount, whichever is greater; felony of up to 2 years after 2 or more priors | MCL 750.131(3)(b) |
| Same, $500 or more | Same conduct | Felony, up to 2 years or a fine of up to $2,000 or 3 times the amount, whichever is greater | MCL 750.131(3)(c) |
| Check on a bank with no account or credit | Writing a check with intent to defraud when there is no account or credit to pay it | Felony, up to 2 years or a fine of up to $500, or both | MCL 750.131a(1) |
| Three or more insufficient funds checks within 10 days | Writing three or more checks within 10 days, with intent to defraud, knowing each time that funds or credit were short | Felony, up to 2 years or a fine of up to $500, or both | MCL 750.131a(2) |
| Overdrawing with a card | Using a financial transaction device, knowingly and with intent to defraud, to withdraw or transfer more than is on deposit or in violation of the account limits | From a misdemeanor of up to 93 days to a felony of up to 10 years, graded by the amount | MCL 750.157w(1) |
| False pretenses | Using a false pretense, with intent to defraud or cheat, to obtain money, property or services | From a misdemeanor of up to 93 days to a felony of up to 20 years, graded by value | MCL 750.218 |
| Welfare fraud | Willful false statement or other fraudulent device to obtain assistance not owed, or a larger amount than is owed | Misdemeanor at $500 or less, felony above $500; the statute says the punishment is as provided by the laws of the state | MCL 400.60(1) |
| Failure to report to the welfare department | Neglecting or refusing to give the department information the recipient must keep supplying | Misdemeanor under $500, felony at $500 or more; punishment as provided by the laws of the state | MCL 400.60(2) |
| Misuse of food assistance | Knowingly using, transferring, acquiring, altering, buying, possessing, presenting for redemption or transporting food stamps, coupons or access devices other than as authorized | Up to 93 days or $1,000 at $250 or less; up to 5 years or $10,000 above $250 to $1,000; up to 10 years above $1,000 | MCL 750.300a(1) |
| Unemployment benefit fraud | False statement made knowing it is false, or knowing and willful failure to disclose a material fact, to get or increase benefits | Administrative fines and repayment with damages; prosecution of $1,000 or more can carry up to 1 year, or 2 years at $25,000 or more | MCL 421.54(b) |
Prior convictions can raise the grade of a check charge, and the prosecutor has to list them on the complaint and the information. The court, not a jury, decides whether a prior exists, at sentencing or at a hearing before it. MCL 750.131(4). I check every prior on an enhanced check charge, because the prosecutor must prove it.
Bad checks: what intent to defraud requires
The statute has two parts. The first reaches a person who makes, draws, utters or delivers a check on a bank, with intent to defraud and knowing at that time that there is not enough money or credit to pay it in full when it is presented. The second reaches a check written with intent to defraud when the funds are short at presentation, but it does not apply if the shortage came from a garnishment, attachment, levy or other lawful cause the person did not know about when the check was written. MCL 750.131(1), (2).
The model jury instruction lists the elements. The prosecutor must prove the check was written or delivered, that it was drawn on a bank and signed, that you knew when you wrote it that there was not enough money or credit, or that you knew there would not be enough when it was presented, that you intended to defraud or cheat someone, and the amount. M Crim JI 29.9. Two instructions help on intent. If you knew the balance was short but had good reason to believe the check would be paid when presented, you did not have the intent to defraud. M Crim JI 29.2. If the account was short because of an honest mistake about how much was in it, the same is true. M Crim JI 29.3. The check must have been presented for payment, but it does not matter whether anyone suffered a loss. M Crim JI 29.4.
The five-day notice. A check refused by the bank when presented in the usual course of business is prima facie evidence of intent to defraud and of knowledge of insufficient funds, unless the maker paid the amount due, with costs and protest fees, within 5 days after receiving notice that it was not paid. MCL 750.132. A separate statute makes a notice of protest admissible as proof of presentation, nonpayment and protest, and prima facie evidence of intent to defraud and knowledge of insufficient funds. MCL 750.133. The jury is told it may infer intent from those facts if they are not explained, but it does not have to. M Crim JI 29.5; M Crim JI 29.6. Paying inside the five days takes away only that first shortcut. The notice of protest route has no payment condition in its text.
No account and rapid-fire checks. Writing a check with intent to defraud on a bank where you have no account or credit is a 2-year felony whatever the amount, and so is writing three or more checks within 10 days with intent to defraud, knowing each time that funds were short. MCL 750.131a. Credit means an arrangement or understanding with the bank that it will pay the check when presented. M Crim JI 29.1. In a closed account case I look at when the account closed and whether you knew. In a three-checks case I look at what each check paid for and what deposits you expected.
Bad check or false pretenses
A prosecutor sometimes charges a bounced check as false pretenses, which carries much heavier penalties. MCL 750.218. In People v. LaRose, 87 Mich. App. 298, 302-304 (1978), a $150 insufficient funds check, the Court of Appeals found no adequate basis for a false pretenses plea. The only false pretense was the representation, incident to giving the check, that funds were on deposit. The court reasoned that the Legislature meant the insufficient funds statute to be an exception to the general false pretenses statute, with a lesser penalty, for that kind of false pretense, so the prosecutor had to charge MCL 750.131. The court also said a bad check accompanied by an additional false representation may support a false pretenses conviction. So I ask what else was said or done: statements about who you were, what the check was for, or whether the account was open.
Overdrawn cards and bank withdrawals
Using a bank card or other financial transaction device to withdraw or transfer more than the account holds, or in violation of the account limits, is a crime only if you act knowingly and with intent to defraud. The grade runs from a 93-day misdemeanor under $200 up to a 10-year felony at $20,000 or more. Amounts from separate incidents in a 12-month period can be added together. MCL 750.157w(1), (2). I look at what you knew about the balance, what the bank allowed and what you did when the bank contacted you.
Welfare fraud and failure to report
Welfare fraud under MCL 400.60(1) reaches a person who, by willful false statement or representation, impersonation or other fraudulent device, or by using an access device, obtains or tries to obtain assistance not owed or a larger amount than owed. The amount involved is the difference between the lawful amount and the amount actually received. The model instruction breaks it into elements: a false statement to the agency, knowledge that it was false, intent to defraud or cheat the agency, reliance by an agency employee, and receipt of benefits not owed or a larger amount. It is a specific intent crime. M Crim JI 34.1. The usual battleground is knowledge and intent. An agency mistake, a misread form or a household member’s income that you did not know about is not the same as a lie.
Failure to report. A person receiving relief has a continuing duty to give the department the circumstances of income from any source, job offers, changes that would reduce the need for relief, and the whereabouts of relatives who owe support. Neglecting or refusing to do so is a misdemeanor if the relief granted as a result is under $500 and a felony at $500 or more. MCL 400.60(2). The jury must find that you knew of the duty, and the instruction defines refuse as intentionally not doing the act and neglect as carelessly failing to do it. M Crim JI 34.3.
What the penalty is. Section 400.60 labels the offense a misdemeanor or a felony but says only that the person is punished as provided by the laws of the state. The general provisions fill the gap when a statute names a misdemeanor or felony without a punishment: up to 90 days or $500 for a misdemeanor, and up to 4 years or $5,000 for a felony. MCL 750.504; MCL 750.503. The sentencing guidelines offense table lists the failure-to-report felony as a class H property offense with a 4-year maximum. MCL 777.14a. Applying the general provisions to welfare fraud is a reading of how the statutes fit together and not an express statement in the welfare statute, so I check the charge and the penalty language in each case.
Food assistance cases
The food assistance statute reaches a person who knowingly uses, transfers, acquires, alters, buys, possesses, presents for redemption or transports food stamps, coupons or access devices other than as the federal food stamp law and its regulations allow. At $250 or less it is a misdemeanor with up to 93 days or a $1,000 fine. Above $250 and up to $1,000 it is a felony with up to 5 years or $10,000, and above $1,000 it is a felony with up to 10 years. A prior conviction raises the grade, and the court decides it at sentencing. Use over a 12-month period can be charged as one offense and the values added together. MCL 750.300a.
Unemployment fraud
Michigan’s unemployment statute covers a person who makes a false statement knowing it to be false, or who knowingly and willfully, with intent to defraud, fails to disclose a material fact, to get or increase benefits. MCL 421.54(b). That is a state-of-mind standard. An honest mistake about a question or a week is not a knowing falsehood. For benefit years beginning on or after May 1, 2017, proving fraud based on unreported earnings requires that the agency have the employer’s weekly wage information. The agency also may not base a determination solely on a computer-identified discrepancy. An agency employee must examine the facts and independently decide that the claimant is responsible for a willful or intentional violation. MCL 421.54(b), (m).
The agency can seek repayment plus damages equal to the amount obtained, and 1.5 times the amount for a second or later violation after notice of the first. It can refer a matter to the county prosecutor, and where the amount is $1,000 or more and under $25,000 the recovery sought can include up to 1 year of imprisonment or community service. At $25,000 or more the limit is 2 years. MCL 421.54(b). An amount over $3,500 and under $25,000 obtained through a knowing false statement or knowing and willful failure to disclose is a felony under subsection (l), but the penalty is still the one stated above for that range, up to 1 year of imprisonment or community service. A smaller amount is not labeled a felony by that subsection. MCL 421.54(l). The section applies even if the amount has been reported or repaid. MCL 421.54(h). I have not stated an appeal deadline here because the deadline in your notice controls, so bring the notice to me right away.
Restitution and repayment
When sentencing a person convicted of a crime, the court must order full restitution to any victim of the course of conduct that gives rise to the conviction, including when the case ends in youthful trainee status, a delayed sentence or a deferred judgment. MCL 780.766(2). Repayment does not by itself end a criminal case, so I want to talk with you before money moves.
How I handle a check or benefit fraud case
- Read the charge and the amount. I check the statute charged, the grade, any listed prior convictions, and whether separate checks or months have been added together.
- Get the paper. For a check case I want the check, the bank records, the notice and protest records, and proof of what was in the account. For a benefit case I want the application, the agency file, the notices you signed and the income records.
- Test the state of mind. I look for the facts that show honest expectation of payment, a misunderstanding of a form, or income you did not control or know about.
- Check how the agency or bank built the case. I ask who examined the facts, which records support the amount, and whether the amount was calculated the way the statute requires.
- Talk to the prosecutor when it helps. If a lower grade, a different charge or a payment arrangement is fair on the evidence, I make that case and tell you what an offer means.
- Prepare for trial. I prepare the case as if it will be tried.
Ways a check or benefit fraud case may end
How a case ends depends on the charge, the evidence, your history and, often, the prosecutor. These are the routes I look at.
Dismissal or reduction at the preliminary examination. In a felony case, if the magistrate decides that a felony was not committed or that there is no probable cause, the magistrate must either discharge you or reduce the charge to an offense that is not a felony. MCL 766.13. The examination is where I test intent and the amount under oath.
A different charge. A false pretenses count built on a bounced check may be reduced to the insufficient funds statute. A plea to a different offense needs the prosecutor’s consent. MCR 6.301(D).
Delayed sentence and youthful trainee status. The court may delay sentencing for up to 1 year in an action in which it may place a defendant on probation. MCL 771.1(2). A person who pleads guilty to an offense committed on or after the 18th birthday and before the 26th birthday may, with consent, be assigned to youthful trainee status without a judgment of conviction, subject to the exclusions in the statute. MCL 762.11(2), (3). I check your age and the exclusions against the exact charge.
What I need from you
Bring the charging papers, the bond order, and every notice you received from the bank, the merchant, the welfare department or the unemployment agency. For a check case, bring the check or a copy, your bank statements for the weeks around it, and anything showing you expected a deposit. For a benefit case, bring your applications, the letters and portal messages you received and your pay records. Write down who told you what and when. Do not respond to the investigator, the agency or the merchant without talking to me first.
Where your Kent County check or benefit fraud case will be heard
I represent clients charged in Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Grandville, Wyoming and across Kent County. A felony begins in district court with an arraignment and, if the case continues, a preliminary examination. MCL 600.8311(c), (e). Michigan law sets the Kent County district courts by municipality. The 61st District Court serves the city of Grand Rapids, the 59th serves the cities of Grandville and Walker, the 62A serves the city of Wyoming and the 62B serves the city of Kentwood. MCL 600.8128a; MCL 600.8130(1)-(3). The 63rd District Court serves the rest of Kent County, which includes the cities of Rockford, Lowell, Cedar Springs and East Grand Rapids and the surrounding townships. MCL 600.8130(4). If the magistrate binds the case over, the felony is arraigned in the circuit court, which for Kent County is the 17th Judicial Circuit. MCL 766.13; MCL 600.8311(f); MCL 600.518. Misdemeanor check and benefit cases are heard in the district court. MCL 600.8311(a).
Why people hire me for a Michigan check or benefit fraud case
You work directly with me, the lawyer handling your case, from the first court date forward. I tell you where the evidence of intent is strong and where it is thin, what the amount does to the grade, and what each choice could mean for your record. I do not promise outcomes. I build the case the facts support and prepare for trial, because an offer is only worth weighing against a real alternative.
Questions I hear from people charged with check or benefit fraud in Michigan
I wrote a check that bounced. Is that a crime in Michigan, and what does the prosecutor have to prove?
A bounced check is not a crime by itself. Under MCL 750.131 the prosecutor must prove that the check was made, drawn, uttered or delivered with intent to defraud, and either that the person knew at that time there were not enough funds or credit to pay it in full, or that the funds were short when it was presented. The jury is told there is no intent to defraud if the person had good reason to expect payment or made an honest mistake about the balance.
I got a notice that my check bounced and I have five days. What does that mean for a criminal case?
Under MCL 750.132, a check refused by the bank when presented in the usual course of business is prima facie evidence of intent to defraud and of knowledge of insufficient funds, unless the maker pays the drawee, which is the bank, the amount due with costs and protest fees within 5 days after receiving notice. The jury is told it may, but does not have to, infer intent from those facts. Paying in time removes only that one statutory shortcut. MCL 750.133 separately makes a notice of protest prima facie evidence and sets no payment condition.
I wrote checks on a closed account, or several checks in a short time. Is that a bigger charge?
It can be. MCL 750.131a makes it a felony with up to 2 years or a $500 fine, or both, to write a check with intent to defraud on a bank where the person has no account or credit for paying it, and also to write three or more checks within 10 days with intent to defraud, knowing each time that there were not sufficient funds or credit. Intent to defraud is still an element.
Can a bounced check be charged as false pretenses or fraud instead of a bad check?
Sometimes, but not when the only false statement is the one built into handing over a check that lacked funds. In People v LaRose, the Court of Appeals held that the prosecutor had to charge the specific insufficient funds statute, MCL 750.131, in that situation. The Michigan Supreme Court later described that rule while noting that a bad check accompanied by an additional false representation may support a false pretenses charge.
I am accused of welfare fraud for lying on an application. What does the prosecutor have to prove?
Under MCL 400.60(1) the prosecutor must prove a willful false statement or representation, impersonation, or other fraudulent device to obtain assistance the person was not entitled to, or a larger amount than was due. The model instruction adds that the person knew it was false, intended to defraud the agency, that an agency employee relied on it, and that benefits were received or would have been. Over $500 is a felony. $500 or less is a misdemeanor.
What is the maximum penalty for welfare fraud in Michigan?
MCL 400.60 labels false-statement welfare fraud a misdemeanor at $500 or less and a felony above that, and failure to report a misdemeanor under $500 and a felony at $500 or more, but says only that a person is punished as provided by the laws of this state. The general penalty provisions appear to fill the gap: a misdemeanor with no stated punishment carries up to 90 days or a fine of up to $500, and a felony with no stated punishment carries up to 4 years or a fine of up to $5,000.
Related Michigan pages
- Grand Rapids criminal defense lawyer
- Retail fraud
- Theft and embezzlement
- Stolen property and auto theft
- Fraud and misrepresentation
I represent people charged with bad check, card overdraft and benefit fraud offenses in Kent County and West Michigan. Contact me 24/7 by phone or email. Your Rights, My Fight! Call for a free initial consultation.
Big-Firm Power. Street-Level Grit.
Law Offices of Mitchell S. Bisson, 2828 Kraft Ave SE, Suite 295, Grand Rapids, MI 49512, serving Kent County and West Michigan.
This page provides general information about Michigan law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change and every case turns on its own facts. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific situation.