PHOENIX, AZ (July 27, 2011) – The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has successfully recovered more than a million dollars in restitution from bad check writers in the last 12 months. These funds were obtained by the County Attorney’s Check Enforcement Program, which helps victims of bad checks recover the money they are owed. The Program also prosecutes bad check writers for Non-Sufficient Funds, Account Closed, Unable to Locate and other common situations in which a check is not paid. In the fiscal year ending June 30^th, 2011, the Program obtained $1,096,383.75 in restitution for individual and businesses victims of bad checks.

“People need to understand that knowingly writing a bad check is a crime in Arizona, and one which my office will aggressively pursue, even if it takes an extended effort to recover the funds” said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. “I encourage all eligible businesses, public agencies, government programs and individual victims of bad checks to use the free service we offer to fight this type of financial crime in Maricopa County,” he added.

Since its creation in 1986, the Check Enforcement Program has returned nearly $42 million dollars to victims of bad checks, processing approximately 6,000 checks a year. Funds for the Program are generated entirely from fees and payments levied on bad check writers and involve no cost to taxpayers or victims. Roughly 80% of the cases submitted to the Program result in successful recovery of funds.

For more information about the Check Enforcement Program and how to submit a check for restitution, visit: http://www.maricopacountyattorney.org/strengthening-communities/check-enforcement/.

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