How can my husband prove he didn’t know they were stolen goods if he can’t produce the evidence?
My husband pawned a few items for a couple of teenagers because they did not have an ID. The police have questioned him and he has already told them he didn’t know the items were from a burglary. Authorities told him they already have the names of the teens who committed the burglaries and they stated “he was the get away driver”. My husband has been no where with these kids, only to the pawn shop. Police say they are picking the teens up next week and for my husband to give them (police) the pawn receipts to avoid a felony charge and jail time. My husband and I have ripped our home to shreds looking for these receipts and we can’t find them. I KNOW my husband did not steal anything from anyone. These teens had knocked on our door and asked him to take them to the pawn shop.
Jared’s Answer: The hallmark of our system is that you don’t have to prove innocence–you can just sit back and put the government to the test of having to prove guilt, and if they fail then you win (verdict: Not Guilty). However, in many cases, there is evidence that can be very damaging to the defense, even if it is circumstantial evidence that allows one to simply draw a reasonable conclusion of guilt. It is imperative to combat such evidence to show that the conclusion of guilt is actually not so reasonable, especially if there is an equally reasonable conclusion of innocence from the evidence. That being said, who are these kids? What is their motivation to lie against your husband? Is there some type of grudge they might have? Why would these kids knock on your door to make this request?? That in and of itself is suspicious because why is your adult husband associating with teenagers in the first place?? These are questions that the cops and DA will answer in a way that makes your husband look like he is guilty, so you had better consult with a local attorney ASAP to get your defense ready.
Credit card charged off in 2006, lawyer is wanting a credit card # or debit card over the phone to pay for charges from ex wife.
Process server called, ex wife from 2004 charged on credit card didnt pay for charges, account was charged off in 2006. Now someone is saying they are a law firm GW & Associates in Orange, Ca wanting me to give them my debit or credit card to pay for these charges that I know nothing about. Should I just let them serve me? I gave them my current address, They are trying to serve me at an old address in Reno,NV. I live in san Ramon,ca. What should I do?
Jared’s Answer:You should never give your credit card info over the phone to someone simply claiming to be a debt collector. These debt collection agencies are often very surreptitious and deceitful. If you give them your card info, they might charge more to the card than you anticipate. And beyond that, you don’t even owe the debt if it was your ex wife’s credit card solely and your name was not on the credit card application. What you should do is contact a consumer rights attorney in your area to discuss a lawsuit against them for violating FDCPA and possibly TCPA if they are calling you with a robo-dialer.
Accused of embezzlement, from someone that I never filled out any paperwork for as being an employee and they didn’t keep track of my hours worked. I did. and was like pulling teeth to get paid.
Jared’s Answer:If the government is able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were entrusted with the care of someone else’s property and you wound up using that property for your own benefit then you have NO chances….because that is the crime of embezzlement and it doesn’t matter if it was like pulling teeth to get paid. However, you might have a defense of good faith belief in your right to appropriate the property to your own personal purposes, but a proper assessment of that defense will require many more details than what you have given.
