Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

Re: civil law

You asked negotiating a check which was not owed to the recipient.

Generally it would not be illegal to negotiate a check unless the circumstances were so outside the norm as to present themselves as unreasonable to the common man.

Now, while it may not be a crime to negotiate the check (cash it), it would be a crime to keep the proceeds. The crime is called conversion (more commonly called stealing).

It is the payee's duty to inform the payor about the payor's error and to return the funds in a similar manner. There are all sorts of caveats, but we won't deal with those here.

This is one of those golden rule questions. Do the right thing and stay out of jail.

Regards,

Roger