Former Net Micheal Ray Richardson Indicted on Theft and Forgery Charges

Micheal Ray Richardson, the former New Jersey Nets player who was banned by the National Basketball Assn. for drug use, has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of illegally cashing a check for more than $9,700.

Bergen County Assistant Prosecutor Dennis Kwasnik said Richardson’s auto insurance company, State Farm, gave him the check as payment for repair work caused when the former player damaged his wife’s Mercedes-Benz in an accident last year.

The money was issued as a double payee check to both Richardson and H and Z Body Shop in Fort Lee, N.J., and was to reimburse the shop for repair work on the car, Kwasnik said.

“The check was cashed and deposited into the account of Micheal Ray Richardson and his wife,” Kwasnik said after the indictment was handed up Monday. “H and Z never saw the check and State Farm is out $9,700 as a result.”

A double payee check is one that the insured and the repair shop must both endorse, and guarantees the insurance company that both parties are satisfied with the payment and the repairs, said Kwasnik. The body shop never endorsed the check, which was cashed in June, he said.

The 31-year-old Richardson could face 6 1/2 years in prison and a $15,000 fine if convicted of one count each of theft by deception and forgery.

The grand jury accused Richardson of “unlawfully and purposely” deceiving State Farm Insurance out of $9,748.19 and forging and falsely endorsing the check.

Kwasnik said Richardson was not arrested on the charges, adding that he would be notified of the indictment and scheduled for a court appearance this month.