First, it's the state, not the collections agency that could prosecute you--the agency could report you to the authorities, then the authorities decide if you likely committed a crime. (The collection agency could certainly *sue* you for the money.)Second, simply being unable to pay, if there was no criminal intent, does not make one criminally liable (though again, you can be sued for the money). To oversimplify, the issue is whether you intended to pay at the time you made the check/authorized the electonric check/etc., and simply had some bad luck or problem...or whether you never intended to pay.Unfortunately for you, 6 bounced checks over 1 1/2 years is difficult to explain as simply being the result of hard times, back luck, etc.--at some point, you *should* have been able to get the creditor  the funds. The facts you describe may provide evidence from which someone could conclude you never intended to pay, which would support criminal prosecution.