I think that the criminal in question here probably wasn't the smartest tool in the box and made a lot of really bad decisions in life. He most likely ended up in jail at some point although I doubt it was for this. I agree that checks were a pain. I would always forget when I used the ATM with the same account and checks would often take many days before they were cashed against your account so unless you kept meticulous records a bounce was always something to be afraid of. Banks used to charge you for being poor back in those days as well.. a small balance checking account would have a monthly fee, large accounts were free.... kind of the crappy of the banks IMO.