The decision of how to charge it depends upon the circumstances of the fraud and the defendant’s prior criminal history.
It is a serious offense, one that can be prosecuted as a felony or a misdemeanor (“a wobbler”). If convicted of felony check fraud, one can be sentenced to up to three years in state prison before sentencing enhancements, if any apply. The Reader’s Digest Version: Check fraud under Penal Code § 476(a) can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, depending upon the facts of the case and defendant’s prior criminal history, if any. The payee does not need to receive the check and attempt to cash or deposit it. Even attempting to tender a check with insufficient funds is a crime. It happens every day, to the tune of millions of dollars in California alone. Passing a bad check is tendering a check for goods or service, from a bank account that has insufficient funds to pay the full amount of the check.