[plummerva]

From Indiana My son is involved in a stolen check situation. He has trusted a friend of his and now it seems it has been a very bad choice. He gave money to a friend of his who "didn't make it to the bank in time" and his friend paid for what my son was suppose to pay for with cash, he paid for with a check. Now it has come to my attention, law enforcement, that the check used was stolen. Of course I am in a complete panic not knowing what to do now. Do I contact a attorney or do I just work with the police? He made a bad judgement call obviously, but what could happen to him? What should I do next?

[aaron]

Has your son been charged with a crime?

Why did he use his friend to pay his debt in the first place, rather than just paying the obligation himself?

[plummerva]

no he hasn't been charged. they are just in the "finding" stage right now. I can't answer why he didn't just pay it. I was just trying to find some information concerning this

[aaron]

It wouldn't hurt for your son to consult a criminal defense lawyer.

If there's no good reason why he would have used his friend as an intermediary, the police or prosecutor may infer that he was in collaboration with his friend and that he knew his friend would pay with a stolen check.