If I deposit an insurance check from an auto accident to my bank without the body shop's signature, is it illegal? Is it legal to draw on these funds?
If the check is drawn to the order of both you and the body shop, and if you defraud the insurance company by failing to get the body work done, or you get a friend to do a shoddy job so you could pocket some of the payment, you could end up being charged with theft or conversion (a form of theft), but if you pay the body shop out of the funds and the work is done to the insurance company's requirements, there's no crime, since no one was harmed.
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If the check is drawn to the order of both you and the body shop, and if you defraud the insurance company by failing to get the body work done, or you get a friend to do a shoddy job so you could pocket some of the payment, you could end up being charged with theft or conversion (a form of theft), but if you pay the body shop out of the funds and the work is done to the insurance company's requirements, there's no crime, since no one was harmed.
