Woman jailed 13 months for forging ex-husband’s signature on bank cheque

A woman from Valletta was sentenced to 13 months’ imprisonment after forging her ex-husband’s signature on a bank cheque and cashing it for her own benefit.

Joann Debono, 47, was found guilty of forgery and the malicious use of documents. She was acquitted of a separate charge of obtaining money or property by false pretences.

Inspector Priscilla Caruana Lee testified that police received a report concerning a cheque issued as payment for gypsum works carried out by Hussein Mohammed Abdul and Diego Giordano. The cheque, amounting to €1,197, was issued in Hussein’s name but was mistakenly sent to a Valletta address listed on a VAT receipt.

Although the cheque had been cashed, Hussein later reported that he had never received it. He informed police that his ex-wife, Debono, resided at that address. Subsequent investigations confirmed that Debono had cashed the cheque.

A copy of the cheque obtained from the bank showed Hussein’s name written on the back, along with Debono’s signature. When questioned by police, Debono claimed she had met her ex-husband and that he had agreed to give her the cheque to cover outstanding electricity bills. Hussein, however, denied such claims of meeting her or authorising the cheque to be cashed. He added that there had been other cases where she had asked him for money.

Debono further alleged that the cheque had been given to her on condition that she assist Hussein with a citizenship application, a claim that was contradicted by evidence showing that the application had been submitted before the police report was filed.

Hussein testified that the cheque had been issued by a company as payment for construction work and sent to his former address by mistake. He became aware it had been cashed after contacting the issuer, who informed him that payment had already been made. He confirmed that the signature on the cheque was not his and denied ever giving Debono permission to cash it.

Under cross-examination, Hussein explained that the VAT address remained his former one because he had been instructed to continue using the same VAT book until it was exhausted, despite notifying the VAT Department of his address change.

Rita Farrugia, Fraud and Investigations Manager at HSBC, testified that the bank did not verify whether the signature or handwriting belonged to him. She explained the bank procedure: When a person presents such a cheque, we check that it bears the payee’s signature, identify the person in front of us, and pay that person. She confirmed that part of the funds were withdrawn in cash and part deposited into Joann Debono’s account. 

Under cross-examination, she stated that it is normal procedure, as cheques are negotiable instruments, and a payee may endorse a cheque to a third party. She highlighted that the bank is not responsible for verifying the authenticity of the payee’s signature, only the identity of the person being paid.

The court held that the accused admitted writing the name and ID number of her ex-husband on the cheque and subsequently cashed it, constituting material forgery. Thus, she was jailed for 13 months. The fraud charge was dismissed due to conflicting evidence and insufficient proof of deception.

Inspector Daryl Borg prosecuted. Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace presided over the case.