Worthless Check Unit

The Tuscaloosa County District Attorney’s Worthless Check Unit (WCU) was established in January of 1985.  Prior to that time, victims of worthless checks were required to go through a long and inefficient process in order to prosecute an individual who’d presented them with a worthless check.  The passage of a statute by the Alabama Legislature allowed District Attorneys to establish a unit specializing in the prosecution of worthless check offenses and the collection of restitution in those cases.  This served to streamline the process and shortened the time it takes victims to recover their losses.

    Since the establishment of the Worthless Check Unit in Tuscaloosa County, the office has returned over sixteen million dollars in restitution and fees to merchants and other victims of worthless checks in Tuscaloosa County.   Between 2003 and 2009, 53,000 worthless checks were referred to the WCU for prosecution.  96% of those cases were cleared either through payment of restitution directly to the WCU or through District Court subsequent to prosecution.