Cheque fraud, or check fraud, is a category of criminal acts involving the unlawful use of cheques to illegally acquire or effectively borrow funds that do not exist in an account balance or that exceed the account holder's legal ownership. Most methods exploit the float period between depositing and clearing a cheque, including cheque kiting, where funds are deposited before the float period ends to cover the fraud, and paper hanging, where fraudulent cheques are written and the account is never replenished.
Facts
Classification CodeIn England and Wales, a materially altered cheque is voided under section 64 of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882; in the United States, cheque fraud against a federally insured bank is separately chargeable as bank fraud under 18 U.S. Code section 1344. 1 Typical PenaltyIn the United States, cheque fraud committed against a federally insured bank can be prosecuted as bank fraud under 18 U.S. Code section 1344, which carries a fine of up to 1,000,000 dollars, imprisonment of up to 30 years, or both. 2 Elements of OffenseCheque fraud is the unlawful use of a cheque to acquire, or effectively borrow, funds that do not exist, including the bad-cheque-writing method, where a cheque is presented to a merchant in the hope that its lack of covering funds will not be discovered before it clears. 1 Notable ExampleCon artist Frank Abagnale became notorious in the 1960s for passing cheques that he had manufactured himself, one of the best known cases of cheque fraud carried out through a forged instrument rather than a stolen or altered one. 1 Jurisdiction VariationThe offense is called cheque fraud in Commonwealth English and check fraud in American English, and the two traditions address it differently: England and Wales voids a materially altered instrument under the Bills of Exchange Act 1882, while the United States relies on federal bank-fraud law and instruments such as the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act. 1 Classification
Offense GradeMinor or Summary Offense 1 Connections
Has Offense Grade
Entity-backed identity for the offense-grade enum value this offense already carries, resolved to a crime concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The offense-grade fact itself stays on the offense unchanged.
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Cheque Fraud (Wikipedia)
WikipediaForgery section
In England and Wales, section 64 of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882 provides that where a bill or an acceptance is materially altered without the assent of all parties liable on the bill, the bill is made void
Introduction
the unlawful use of cheques to illegally acquire or (effectively) to borrow funds that do not exist
Unusual cases section
Frank Abagnale, where the perpetrator passes or attempts to pass a cheque that has been manufactured by themself
Introduction, terminology sentence
Cheque fraud (Commonwealth English) or check fraud (American English)
View the Source 2. 18 U.S. Code section 1344 (Cornell LII)
Cornell Law School, Legal Information InstituteSection 1344 penalty clauseQuote, Section 1344 penalty clause
shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.
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