Can you cash a check at a the bank where a check is wrote to you if there is no money in the account?

You can and it would probably bounce due to insufficient funds, unless the payor had bank coverage for IF, then the bank would pay it.

The payor [you'r the payee, the one who should be receiving the money] would be penalized by the bank if they dint have the IF coverage, as I understand it, I've never been in that situation.