New Hope Man Accused Of Cashing Bad Checks

A New Hope Borough man has been charged after allegedly cashing more than $35,000 in bad checks at a Falls Township check cashing business, police said.

Michael Nicholas Cifelli III, 48, faces charges of bad checks, theft by deception and receiving stolen property.

The owner of the check cashing store, which is located on Lincoln Highway, reported to police in January that a man had cashed five checks in December, police said.

The checks were written by Cifelli to himself and ranged from $3,700 to $9,300, totaling $35,700, police said.

After service fees, Cifelli received $34,807.50, police said.

The checks were drawn from an Ally Bank account tied to Cifelli, according to court documents.

The business later discovered the checks bounced due to insufficient funds and contacted Cifelli, informing him he owed the money, police said.

As of earlier this week, Cifelli had not repaid the full debt, police said.

A detectives spoke with Cifelli, who stated that there should have been sufficient funds in his Ally Bank account to cover the checks, police said.

Police obtained a search warrant for Cifelli’s Ally Bank statements and found that he did not have enough money to cover the five checks in December 2024 or January 2025.

Cifelli was preliminarily arraigned this week before District Judge John Galloway and released on $200,000 unsecured bail.

Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.

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