WALHALLA — Financial crime experts with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office will be at the H&R Block office in West Union today to explain to merchants and individuals new statewide procedures for dealing with bad checks.

Sgt. Mark Moore and Sgt. Mike Holmes will make presentations from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the 192 Scenic Highway location of H&R Block in West Union. The financial crimes investigators will repeat their presentation Friday at the Dogwood Plaza H&R Block, 313 Market St., in Seneca also from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Moore said the new policy does not allow those who have been victimized by bad checks to sign an arrest warrant on their own against the person who issued the bouncing check, as had been the norm.

“Now it can only be done by law enforcement,” Moore said. “Our presentation is geared toward businesses. We’re going to try to explain this new process.”

State legislation enacted in June calls on victims of fraudulent checks to have a law enforcement official sign an arrest warrant for them. Under the old law, residents or merchants had the option of going to a magistrate directly to obtain a “citizen-sworn” warrant for bad checks or other misdemeanors involving minor crimes.

To meet the new requirement, the sheriff’s office has implemented a new procedure to be followed when filing a fraudulent check report. If the bad check is for more than $1,000, victims should bring the required documentation to the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, 300 S. Church St. in Walhalla, anytime between 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

Bad checks written for less than $1,000 could be reported between 10 a.m.-4 p.m. each Wednesday.

Fraudulent checks received within the municipal limits of any city should be reported to the local police department regardless of the amount of the bad check.

For more information, call the Warrant Division at (864) 638-4448 or access www.oconeelaw.com/fraudcheck on the Web.