Police Involvement in Civil Issues

[TexasCG]

Good Evening,

Quick general question.

My wife had a joint checking account with a friend/co-worker so she could pay her bills/take care of her business matters while she was working outside of the country. Of course now that relationship has ended and there is dispute over how some of the money was spent. I feel like this is a civil dispute, but its been taken to the police, and the detective is telling us if we don't have an agreement of repayment put on paper and notarized that he will be filing felony charges. Is this a common, accepted practice for the police to threaten charges to force restitution over a disputed amount of money?

Thanks in advance.

[jdthor]

Cant speak for another officer and to much other things here that im sure is missing. First thing id do is contact a lawyer and /or a JP and get answers in person rather than here.

[hemicop]

Threaten? NO. Info people of consequences, sure. I don't know all the details here, but it may be a civil matter or it may be viewed as theft or embezzlement.

[Iowa #1603]

I would talk to an attorney FAST


But yes, I could see where (in my state) a charge of Embellishment by Agent or flat out Theft charges could/would be filed if the person feels your wife misappropriated funds that had been entrusted to her .

I would NOT call it a civil matter

[Caballero1508]

In my state, without knowing all of the facts, it sounds civil on the surface. Did you verify that it was an actual Detective and/or Law Enforcement Officer or was it someone whom called over the phone and advised he was one?

Talk to an attorney.

[tanksoldier]

Fraud, embezzlement, check fraud, forgery, theft etc are all real crimes.

Don't assume it's a "civil" matter.

Get a lawyer.

[SgtScott31]

Good Evening,

Quick general question.

My wife had a joint checking account with a friend/co-worker so she could pay her bills/take care of her business matters while she was working outside of the country. Of course now that relationship has ended and there is dispute over how some of the money was spent. I feel like this is a civil dispute, but its been taken to the police, and the detective is telling us if we don't have an agreement of repayment put on paper and notarized that he will be filing felony charges. Is this a common, accepted practice for the police to threaten charges to force restitution over a disputed amount of money?

Thanks in advance.

If your wife spent money that didn't belong to her it can be a civil and a criminal matter. I'm assuming since there was a bank account involved the paper trail should be pretty extensive. It should be pretty obvious if there was money spent that shouldn't have been. If the detective files criminal charges I'm sure there's evidence to suggest they were warranted.

[CruiserClass]

Fraud, embezzlement, check fraud, forgery, theft etc are all real crimes.

Don't assume it's a "civil" matter.

Get a lawyer.

This. It sounds like the PD is giving you a chance to work it out amongst yourselves prior to them becoming involved in a criminal investigation. Once it hits the prosecutor's desk, its a lot tougher to make it go away.

We give folks these opportunities fairly often when there is a relationship between them. Neighbors, for example. If you can work it out with your neighbor without either of you being arrested, that's probably a better resolution since you have to continue to live next to each other. However, if you can't solve it between you or its serious enough that we can't risk it, the ability to arrest remains.

[Dinosaur32]

Could be a criminal case in New York....of course if the wife did nothing wrong, the checks she wrote can be verified and the total should match the amount debited from the account. Get her an attorney.

[PhilipCal]

Might not hurt to contact your local prosecutor's office. You should consult an attorney in any case.