Arrested for Uttering and Publishing After Depositing a Check from a Car Sale

A man in Michigan sold a truck, and the buyer paid by check. The seller deposited the check. Several days later the police showed up at his home and he ended up being charged with uttering and publishing (check forgery) because the check that the buyer gave him was stolen. How can he get the charge dismissed?

If he can identify the buyer, then that's the place to start -- he (and his lawyer) can provide the police with information about the buyer and, if they're lucky, when they find him he will be in possession of the truck, buttressing the seller's story. Ideally he will have contact information from the seller, and a copy of the car title showing that he conveyed title to the buyer -- and if the buyer used his real name on the title, it's all the easier to track him down.

If the vehicle has been titled to somebody, or has not been registered since the sale but is located somewhere, it may be possible to identify the buyer from that information.

He can also try to establish that he had no access to the check, so as to steal it, but that's normally a less effective defense.

Technically, uttering and publishing is not a forgery charge -- forgery is the act of placing the false signature on the check, while uttering and publishing is the act of presenting the falsified check for payment. It is possible to be charged with U&P for a check that you did not forge, or with forgery for a check that you did not present for payment.