Calif. bad check victim ends up in jail

A San Francisco man who unknowingly tried to cash a fake check written to him was arrested, jailed and spent $14,000 clearing his name.

Matthew Shinnick, 38, sold two mountain bikes on the Craigslist online market site and received a Bank of America check for $2,000. He asked a teller if there were sufficient funds to cover it and when she said yes, he signed it. The teller then called police and reported the check as a fake, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday. Police arrived and handcuffed Shinnick, and he was kept in a small cell for almost 12 hours before his father raised $4,500 bond.

Bank of America said it regretted the "unfortunate series of events," but said Shinnick has no grounds to sue for his legal costs because of a 2004 state Supreme Court decision that shields institutions and people from liability when reporting suspected crimes to the police.

Shinnick says after 18 years in retail, the bank could have done better. "The way to handle something like this is to take the person into a back room and work things out before you call the police," he said.

Report here



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