As your District Attorney, I am troubled by the damage done to innocent parties by those who pass bad checks to local businesses. Merchants lose millions of dollars every year due to offenders who pass bad checks. Bad checks affect our entire community. Merchants are forced to raise the prices they charge all of us for goods and services to offset the losses they suffer from bad checks. The dollars needed to fund law enforcement and prosecution efforts to hold these offenders accountable increase every year.

To fight this growing problem, I have organized the Bad Check Restitution Program to help local merchants recover bad check losses. My main goal in this program is to help victims of bad checks recover complete and quick restitution without increasing the financial burden on taxpayers and the criminal justice system.

Through the program, we give first time bad check offenders the opportunity to avoid crminal prosecution by paying immediate and full restitution and attending a mandatory educational class. We do all this without any additional expense to the taxpayers of Montgomery County.

I encourage local businesses to partcipate in this program. The Bad Check Restitution Program is a proven, effective way to help victims recover their financial losses, hold first time offenders accountable and reduce the negative effects of bad checks at no cost to law abiding citizens of our county.

Risa Vetri Ferman
District Attorney of Montgomery County, PA