http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/20/BUGK2N2M051.DTL
San Jose resident Steven Chesser, like so many of us, receives checks in the mail from people who claim he's just won a lottery or sweepstakes. Unlike most of us, though, he can't tell they're fake.
And for that reason, he's spent the entire holiday season in the Santa Clara County Jail.
Chesser, who is 51 but, according to his father, has the mind of a 12-year-old, isn't sure why he's locked up. He told his dad that, as best as he can figure, it's because he opened a bank account.
In fact, Chesser's mistake was thinking that if you receive checks in the mail, and if you take those checks to a bank, and if that bank gives you money, then everything must be all right.
But it wasn't.
In any case, the date of Chesser's first court appearance arrived in August, and his father said Chesser locked himself in his room and refused to come out. His father went without him. A warrant was issued for Chesser's arrest.
Sheriff's deputies arrived at the house on Nov. 1 and took Chesser into custody. He's been in jail ever since.
Bail was set at $10,000, but William Chesser said he's decided not to pay it because of the danger that his son might disappear again.
"If he gets out, it's possible I wouldn't be able to get him back to court," William Chesser said. "That would make things even worse."
And so Steven Chesser has spent Thanksgiving and the entire holiday season behind bars -- all because con artists targeted him with their scams.
"He's going to be spending Christmas in jail," his mother said, her voice catching. "I feel so sorry for him."
Nearly two months of incarceration hasn't been good for Steven's condition, his parents observed.
"When I saw him in jail, he said the walls were talking to him," Mary Chesser recalled.
William Chesser had a similar impression. "He's been talking to imaginary people," he said. "When I visited him, we were speaking on the phone from two sides of a glass window. Steven would hold up the phone so an imaginary person could hear what I was saying.
"I asked him if he knew why he was there," the father continued. "He said it was for opening an account at Wells Fargo.
"I asked if he knew the checks were no good. He said they'd come in the mail and were addressed to him, so they must be good. He doesn't understand how a check can be bad."
Wells Fargo's Hammond said holds are routinely placed on checks so that banks can determine that funds are available. But he said a portion of the deposited amount may still be made available right away "at the customer's request."
"Customers are advised not to spend funds until the item has cleared," Hammond said. "They are responsible for the authenticity of the item. In a situation when funds are not available or the item negotiated is found to be fraudulent, the customer is responsible for the amount the bank has distributed to the customer."
Chesser's father said he received a letter from his son recently, asking that he be let out of jail.
"It's very sad," he said. "It's hard to understand why this is happening."
San Jose resident Steven Chesser, like so many of us, receives checks in the mail from people who claim he's just won a lottery or sweepstakes. Unlike most of us, though, he can't tell they're fake.
And for that reason, he's spent the entire holiday season in the Santa Clara County Jail.
Chesser, who is 51 but, according to his father, has the mind of a 12-year-old, isn't sure why he's locked up. He told his dad that, as best as he can figure, it's because he opened a bank account.
In fact, Chesser's mistake was thinking that if you receive checks in the mail, and if you take those checks to a bank, and if that bank gives you money, then everything must be all right.
But it wasn't.
In any case, the date of Chesser's first court appearance arrived in August, and his father said Chesser locked himself in his room and refused to come out. His father went without him. A warrant was issued for Chesser's arrest.
Sheriff's deputies arrived at the house on Nov. 1 and took Chesser into custody. He's been in jail ever since.
Bail was set at $10,000, but William Chesser said he's decided not to pay it because of the danger that his son might disappear again.
"If he gets out, it's possible I wouldn't be able to get him back to court," William Chesser said. "That would make things even worse."
And so Steven Chesser has spent Thanksgiving and the entire holiday season behind bars -- all because con artists targeted him with their scams.
"He's going to be spending Christmas in jail," his mother said, her voice catching. "I feel so sorry for him."
Nearly two months of incarceration hasn't been good for Steven's condition, his parents observed.
"When I saw him in jail, he said the walls were talking to him," Mary Chesser recalled.
William Chesser had a similar impression. "He's been talking to imaginary people," he said. "When I visited him, we were speaking on the phone from two sides of a glass window. Steven would hold up the phone so an imaginary person could hear what I was saying.
"I asked him if he knew why he was there," the father continued. "He said it was for opening an account at Wells Fargo.
"I asked if he knew the checks were no good. He said they'd come in the mail and were addressed to him, so they must be good. He doesn't understand how a check can be bad."
Wells Fargo's Hammond said holds are routinely placed on checks so that banks can determine that funds are available. But he said a portion of the deposited amount may still be made available right away "at the customer's request."
"Customers are advised not to spend funds until the item has cleared," Hammond said. "They are responsible for the authenticity of the item. In a situation when funds are not available or the item negotiated is found to be fraudulent, the customer is responsible for the amount the bank has distributed to the customer."
Chesser's father said he received a letter from his son recently, asking that he be let out of jail.
"It's very sad," he said. "It's hard to understand why this is happening."