Lamar County & District Attorney: Hot Check Information

Hot Check Information

> NEW! Click here to download and print Form 179
for filing hot checks with the county attorney.

The Hot Check Division’s primary purpose is to receive complaints of theft from area merchants arising from the passing of worthless checks and to develop those complaints into prosecutable cases in addition to helping merchants recover losses through restitution.

Delia Vega is Lamar County's hot check coordinator and is available by calling 903-737-2413.

Delia Vega
Hot Check Coordinator

In 2006, the Hot Check Division collected $325,793 and returned it to merchants in restitution and fees.

> Filing a Check with the DA

If the check is an NSF check:

Send a certified letter to the person who signed the check to the address on the check.
If the certified letter is returned unclaimed, wait ten (10) days to file the check with the DA’s Office.
If the certified letter is claimed, wait ten (10) days from the date the certified letter was signed for as shown on the return receipt before filing the check with the DA’s Office. Use this form to file the check with our office. (or click here to download in MS Word)
When you file the check with the DA’s Office, you must file BOTH the CERTIFIED GREEN CARD RECEIPT AND THE ORIGINAL CHECK along with a Hot Check Crime Report.

Even if the Hot Check Division cannot develop a prosecutable case from a hot check you submit, we will still attempt to collect restitution for you as well as the statutory merchant fee to which you are entitled. If the case is a prosecutable case and is filed in court for prosecution, we will require restitution and the merchant fee be paid as a condition of any plea bargain agreement or, if the court agrees, as a condition of probation if probation is granted to the offender by the court. The District Attorney’s Office will not dismiss a case solely because the offender pays restitution or because the victim wants to drop charges. Once filed, the criminal case will proceed as any other criminal case would.

Substitute Checks
Federal law now allows banks to replace a check with an imaged substitute check. Your bank may use this process, and you would not receive the actual hot check you received and deposited. It is likely that in the near future original processed paper checks will no longer be available to you, but for a fee you can obtain a substitute check from your bank. The imaged checks you receive with you bank statement are not substitute checks. Because of this fee, the Hot Check Division will begin to collect the maximum merchant fee of $30.00 on all returned checks written in 2004 and later. The collection of this fee should help to offset the cost of obtaining a substitute check.

Substitute checks from your bank are the only exception to the requirement that the Hot Check Division have the original hot check in order to accept it for collection and prosecution. When all restitution and your merchant fee have been collected from the offender, you will receive that money in a restitution check from the Hot Check Division.

Some Things a Merchant Should Know

You should have a check acceptance policy consistent with the information provided on this website regarding a accepting a check and a procedure for taking a check, and you should follow that policy consistently.
The DA’s Office cannot accept the following kinds of checks for prosecution:
Post-dated or “hold” checks
Checks not presented to a bank for payment within 30 days of receipt
Checks presented outside Lamar County or for services performed outside Lamar County
A check given as a substitute for another
Checks received in the mail
Two or more party checks
Checks altered or forged
Checks where no goods, products, or services were given in immediate exchange
Checks given to pay a pre-existing debt
Drafts, which are an extension of credit
Checks that are not marked or flagged “account closed” or “NSF”
Checks where the apparent signer cannot be identified as having actually signed and presented the check

Be suspicious of:

Starter checks
Temporary, expired, or out-of-state driver’s licenses
Department of Public Safety ID cards (intended for senior citizens and the disabled)
Anyone who cannot produce a driver’s license
Any variation between the information on the check, the ID produced and/or the check writer
Always keep a copy of everything you send to the DA’s Office, Hot Check Division

> WHEN TAKING A CHECK ...

Be thorough when accepting a check as payment. Your business should set a policy for all customers, so no one will have a reason to feel that they are being treated unfairly. Post the County Attorney's HOT CHECK LIST (shown below) so each cashier can easily see it. It has the following reminders:

Is it dated today? Checks must be dated the same day they are given.
Do $$ amounts match? If not, a bank will not accept it.
Good signature? The signature must match the name printed on the check. Do not accept previously signed checks. Compare the signature with the one on the ID.
Street address? Require a permanent street address, not a P. O. Box.
Compare the photo. Compare the photo DL or ID with the check writer.
Compare/write DL/ID. Record on the check the type of ID and ID number. If the DL number is pre-printed on the check, compare it to the DL itself. A Texas DL has 8 numbers starting with a 0, 1 or 2. Get the DL number for a person cashing a company check also.
Write the date of birth. In case the DL/ID # is written down wrong, we can use a DOB to locate a check writer. Without an ID number or date of birth, we cannot file a criminal case.
Write your initials. Put your initials on every check you cash for testimony purposes after you have followed the above steps.
Get a fingerprint. Have the check writer place a fingerprint on the front of the check with his/her right index finger. Use the inkless and stainless touch pad provided FREE by the Lamar County Attorney's Office. Afterwards, the check writer simply rubs his/her fingers together and the ink disappears.

Frequently Asked Questions

I received notice from the Hot Check Division that some hot checks I wrote have been filed with the DA. What should I do?

You should immediately contact the Hot Check Division, find out how much you owe, and make arrangements to pay the checks, the merchant’s fee, and the DA’s fee. If eligible and if you want to, you may be able to pay by installments. You can pay by mail with a money order or cashier’s check, and if paying in person, you may pay in cash. As you would expect, the Hot Check Division does not accept personal checks. Never send cash in the mail. Do not make restitution to the merchant directly. It will not save you.

Well, I didn’t pay the hot checks I wrote and now I have criminal cases filed against me. What do I do?

A warrant has been issued for your arrest. You are advised to surrender to the county sheriff.

OK, now that I have criminal cases filed against me, what happens after I am arrested? If I pay restitution and all the fees and costs, will the criminal cases be dismissed?

Your criminal case will be handled as any criminal case would be. You should have a lawyer and consider his or her advice. Your attorney will advise you about the procedures in a criminal case. Under no circumstances will your criminal case be dismissed just because you pay restitution, fees and costs. The Hot Check Division is not going to be your banker. Once a criminal case is filed against you, the Hot Check Division only collects your money while the prosecutor assigned to your case seeks your conviction.

Can I get a list from your office of the hot checks I have written?

You can get a list of hot checks you have written that have been filed with the Hot Check Division. You have to appear in person and have a state driver’s license or other official photo identification. We will not release the information to anyone but you or your attorney.

If hot checks I have written are filed with your Hot Check Division, will I have a criminal record if I pay the checks and fees before a criminal case is filed against me?

You will not have a criminal record for the hot checks filed with the Hot Check Division if you pay those checks before a criminal case is filed. However, merely paying the checks you owe will not necessarily prevent a criminal case from being filed. The decision to file a criminal case involves many factors, and no one in the DA’s Office can tell you with certainty that a case will not be filed just because you made restitution, although payment of restitution is a factor in making that decision. All in all, you are likely to be better off if you pay the checks and fees than you would be if you don’t.