When is forgery considered a civil matter vs criminal matter? My boyfriends ex wrtoe over $4600 worth of checks out of his bank account. Her...

Question

When is forgery considered a civil matter vs criminal matter? My boyfriends ex wrtoe over $4600 worth of checks out of his bank account. Her name was not on the account and she wrote checks to herself, her mother, her sister and her health insurance. Copies have all been turned over to the police/DA but we haven't heard back wheather they believe it will be criminal or civil. Also, if it goes criminal what is the likely hood it will be dropped to a misdemeanor and not felony? He is trying to figure out if this will affect the custody situation of his daughter at all. What is the possible sentencing for something like this? What if she claims he gave her verbal permission to sign his name even though he never did (then it's a he said she said)? All of this is happening in the state of Wisconsin. Also, she has no prior criminal history besides traffic violations. So I'm thinking she would get the least possible charge? We are just trying to figure out what all the posiblities are. Thanks!

Answer

Forgery is both a criminal and a civil violation at the same time. The victim can always sue civilly, regardless of what the the DA's office decides to do, but starting a civil suit first sometimes makes criminal prosecution less likely or delays it. Since fraudulent intent is an element of proof, a past domestic relationship makes it harder to prove forgery, because the issue of consent might arise. Consent to sign someone's name to a check may disprove fraudulent intent. Civil forgery lawsuits may face a much shorter statute of limitations than the six year statute applicable to criminal cases in WI. Criminal forgery sentences can include up to ten years in prison or a $10K fine. One reasonable goal in either civil or criminal lawsuits is the get the money back, and prosecutors will often feel much better about reducing felonies to misdemeanors if it is paid back up front.

Do not assume that I am your attorney due to this answer, but feel free to call my office in Racine (262-633-3090 or email [email protected]/* */) for clarifications or further questions. Otherwise, I would not be taking any further action on your case. See me on the web at www.jayknixonlaw.com. View my past answers at http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/53401-wi-jay-nixon-1529181/answers.html?sort=recency , or http://www./answers/search/attorney/jknixon,