For 15 years, our office maintained a Worthless Check Unit to assist businesses and individuals seeking to collect debts owed by those who wrote fraudulent checks. We were able to do this at no cost to the taxpayer and recouped more than $2 million in restitution between 2009 and 2020. All program costs were borne by the bad-check writers. Over time, however, people have written fewer checks, making the Worthless Check Unit unsustainable. Accordingly, we ceased operating the Worthless Check Unit on June 1, 2021.
We are still pursuing to conclusion all pending cases started with our office before the program was halted. If you have come to this page to make a payment, please see the payment button near the bottom of this page.
If you are the victim of a worthless check writer after June 1, 2021, you may consider proceeding under South Carolina’s fraudulent check law (South Carolina Code Section 34-11-60). You must meet all requirements set out in the law. Here are the steps you must take to prosecute the worthless check:
1. Once the check has been returned, you must send a certified letter to either the address that is printed on the check, or any alternate address provided by the check writer at the time of receipt of the check. The certified letter must be sent no later than ten (10) days of receipt of the returned check.
2. If there is no response from the check writer within ten (10) days of the mailing of the certified letter, you may then file charges for fraudulent check with your local Magistrate. You must provide a copy of the returned check and the receipt from the certified letter as well as the outcome of the certified letter.
3. You cannot prosecute the check writer under the fraudulent check statute if the check was accepted post dated or if it is over 120 days old.
You can find the entire code section 34-11-60 at South Carolina Courts website at this link: http://bit.ly/Worthless-Check. Thank you for entrusting us to assist in collecting restitution for you over the years. We hope that we have helped businesses throughout the circuit collect and have held bad check writers accountable.
For those with active cases with our Unit, restitution checks are mailed out once a month. We recommend you keep a copy of the check and the Worthless Check form for your records. This office reserves the right to refuse the acceptance of checks from individuals who do not adhere to the guidelines set forth.