AboutJim Meadows Expertise I can respond to most questions concerning consumer and business relationships with US financial institutions. My expertise touches on deposit and loan issues and particularly on strategies to navigate through bank policies personell and practices. I have a degree in Economics, attended law school, Graduate Shool of Banking, and Commercial Lending and Compliance Schools.
Experience I have twenty years experience as a bank CEO. Most of those years were spent operating a bank focused primarly on serving consumer/retail needs. I helped pioneer deposit and loan products for low/moderate income individuals. I currently serve on multiple bank boards and am Chairman of a Commercial Bank in Atlanta.
Question QUESTION: i needed help with rent so my friend said he would let me borrow some money. he told me that we would have to cash it at my bank since his account was overdrawn. i received a check from him in the amount of $950. when we met up the check was already filled out and signed, he just wrote my name. this was not his check though. i did not know the girl to whom the check belonged to. i went into the bank cashed the check left 300 in my account for rent and gave him the other $650 in cash. 2 days later the check bounced my account was overdrawn and now he wont answer my calls. i think the check may have been stolen. what do i do?
ANSWER: Brianna, Sorry, I don't have any good news. When you cashed the check at your bank you "endorsed/guaranteed" the check to the bank. You owe your bank $950 plus fees. Your only recourse is to "your friend" and the check which you cashed. Both would seem to offer little hope. Jim
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QUESTION: First of all, thank you for such a quick reply. i totally understand that from my bank's perspective i am responsible since i have a relationship with them, not my friend. i am already trying to repay the negative balance as it seems that my friend doesn't care. how will i go about proving (for legal reasons) that i did not steal the check? is there anyway to hold my friend responsible? i have attempted to contact the local district attorney's office, my financial institution making them aware that i believe the check was stolen, and the person to whom the check belonged to, was that a good idea?
Answer Brianna, I wouldn't worry about proving that you did not steal the check until you are accused of doing so. If you are, the truth is a good defense. Contacting the bank and the DA's office is not necessarily a good idea. The less you know about the check the better. You certainly don't want it to appear that you knew the check was stolen when you cashed it. Jim
