Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 943 - Crimes against property.
943.24 - Issue of worthless check.

943.24 Issue of worthless check.
(1) Whoever issues any check or other order for the payment of not more than $2,500 which, at the time of issuance, he or she intends shall not be paid is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(2) Whoever issues any single check or other order for the payment of more than $2,500 or whoever within a 90-day period issues more than one check or other order amounting in the aggregate to more than $2,500 which, at the time of issuance, the person intends shall not be paid is guilty of a Class I felony.
(3) Any of the following is prima facie evidence that the person at the time he or she issued the check or other order for the payment of money, intended it should not be paid:
(a) Proof that, at the time of issuance, the person did not have an account with the drawee; or
(b) Proof that, at the time of issuance, the person did not have sufficient funds or credit with the drawee and that the person failed within 5 days after receiving written notice of nonpayment or dishonor to pay the check or other order, delivered by regular mail to either the person's last-known address or the address provided on the check or other order; or
(c) Proof that, when presentment was made within a reasonable time, the person did not have sufficient funds or credit with the drawee and the person failed within 5 days after receiving written notice of nonpayment or dishonor to pay the check or other order, delivered by regular mail to either the person's last-known address or the address provided on the check or other order.
(4) This section does not apply to a postdated check or to a check given for a past consideration, except a payroll check.
(5)
(a) In addition to the other penalties provided for violation of this section, a judge may order a violator to pay restitution under s. 973.20.
(b) In actions concerning violations of ordinances in conformity with this section, a judge may order a violator to make restitution under s. 800.093.
(c) If the court orders restitution under pars. (a) and (b), any amount of restitution paid to the victim under one of those paragraphs reduces the amount the violator must pay in restitution to that victim under the other paragraph.
(6)
(a) If the department of justice, a district attorney, or a state or local law enforcement agency requests any of the following information under par. (b) from a financial institution, as defined in s. 705.01 (3), regarding a specific person, the financial institution shall provide the information within 10 days after receiving the request:
1. Documents relating to the opening and closing of the person's account.
2. Notices regarding any of the following that were issued within the 6 months immediately before the request and that relate to the person:
a. Checks written by the person when there were insufficient funds in his or her account.
b. Overdrafts.
c. The dishonor of any check drawn on the person's account.
3. Account statements sent to the person by the financial institution for the following:
a. The period during which any specific check covered by a notice under subd. 2. was issued.
b. The period immediately before and immediately after the period specified in subd. 3. a.
4. The last known address and telephone number for the person's home and business.
(b) The department of justice, a district attorney, or a state or local law enforcement agency may request information under par. (a) only if the request is in writing and if it states that the requester is investigating whether the person specified violated this section or is prosecuting the person specified under this section.
(c) A financial institution may not impose a fee for providing information under this subsection.
History: 1977 c. 173; 1985 a. 179; 1987 a. 398; 1991 a. 39, 40; 1993 a. 71; 2001 a. 16, 109; 2003 a. 138, 306; 2005 a. 462.
The grace period under sub. (3) does not transform the issuance of a worthless check into a debt for which one may not be imprisoned under Art. I, s. 16. Locklear v. State, 86 Wis. 2d 603, 273 N.W.2d 334 (1979).
Checks cashed at a dog track for the purpose of making bets were void gambling contracts under s. 895.055 and could not be enforced under this statute although returned for nonsufficient funds. State v. Gonelly, 173 Wis. 2d 503, 496 N.W.2d 671 (Ct. App. 1992).
The distinction between present and past consideration under sub. (4) is discussed. State v. Archambeau, 187 Wis. 2d 501, 523 N.W.2d 150 (Ct. App. 1994).
Each different group of checks totalling more than $1,000, issued during the 15 day period, may be the basis for a separate charge under sub. (2). State v. Hubbard, 206 Wis. 2d 651, 558 N.W.2d 126 (Ct. App. 1996), 96-0865.
Although sub. (5) (b) references the procedures spelled out in s. 800.093, which discusses municipal courts, the authority sub. (5) (b) confers on any “judge" continues to apply. A circuit court judge may impose restitution under s. 943.24, utilizing the procedures provided for by s. 800.093. OAG 3-12.

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