RSA 638:4 Issuing Bad Checks

• Library: New Hampshire Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through 2023 Legislative Session
• Year: 2023
• Citation: RSA 638:4

I.A person is guilty of issuing a bad check if he issues or passes a check for the payment of money and payment is refused by the drawee, except in cases where a legal stop payment order has been issued or where the drawee refuses payment for any other reason through no fault of the person who issued or passed the check.

I-a.A person who issues or passes a bad check is subject to prosecution in the jurisdiction in which he issued or passed the check.

II.For the purposes of this section, as well as in any prosecution for theft committed by means of a bad check, a person who issues a check for which payment is refused by the drawee is presumed to know that such check would not be paid if he had no account with the drawee at the time of issue.

III.It is an affirmative defense that the actor paid the amount of the check, together with all costs and protest fees, to the person to whom it was due, within 14 days after having received notice that payment was refused. The actor's failure to make such payment within 14 days after receiving notice that payment was refused shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of paragraph I of this section.

IV.

(a) Issuing a bad check is:

(1) A class A felony if:

(A) The face amount of the check exceeds $1,500; or

(B) The defendant has 2 or more prior convictions under this section, the present and prior convictions were based on offenses committed within a 12-month period, and the aggregate face amount of the checks underlying the present and prior convictions exceeds $1,500;

(2) A class B felony if:

(A) The face amount of the check exceeds $1,000 but is not more than $1,500; or

(B) The defendant has 2 or more prior convictions under this section, the present and prior convictions were based on offenses committed within a 12-month period, and the aggregate face amount of the checks underlying the present and prior convictions exceeds $1,000 but does not exceed $1,500;