Who is responsible for a stolen and “washed” check?
Clearly if the bank cashed a stolen check, they’re responsible. If they aren’t being cooperative, you must go to the police yourself (although it sounds like you already have). I would also contact the postal inspector, since it sounds like the check was stolen from a mailbox, i.e. federal property. The relevant federal statute is UCC 4-406: ยง 4-406. CUSTOMER’S DUTY TO DISCOVER AND REPORT UNAUTHORIZED SIGNATURE OR ALTERATION. …. * (c) If a bank sends or makes available a statement of account or items pursuant to subsection (a), the customer must exercise reasonable promptness in examining the statement or the items to determine whether any payment was not authorized because of an alteration of an item or because a purported signature by or on behalf of the customer was not authorized. If, based on the statement or items provided, the customer should reasonably have discovered the unauthorized payment, the customer must promptly notify the bank of the relevant facts. * (d) If the bank
Odds are that your bank has a procedure for reporting a forgery, which is what this is. They will do an investigation about whether or not the check was forged and whether or not they were liable (as in, did the teller do what s/he was supposed to do w/ regard to cashing the check), and will then render a decision. In the case of a forgery where the funds were deposited or cashed from a bank that is NOT the bank upon which it was drawn, whether or not you get your money back sometimes is determined by the other’s bank’s response to your bank’s request. In this case, it sounds like the bank cashed a forged check that was drawn on the bank (it’s called “on-us”), in which case they just have to decide whether or not they will be refunding the money. Your parents should go in, speak with the appropriate party, and fill out any forms that the bank uses for this. Then, they will have to wait for the bank to sort it out (I would say no more than a max of 10 business days). I would think that
