Possession Of Stolen Merchandise - What to Do

[killer14163]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Florida

I have a retail jewelry store and i occasionally buy jewelry. a costumer of mine of many years sent a friend of hers over to sell a ring that dident want. so he wanted more money then i had laying around at the time so i knew my best friend was currently looking for a engagement ring so i basically brokered the deal between my friend and this guy.
my friend who we can call frank paid the guy who we will call jim for simplicity $8500.00 for the ring. he paid with a check so we have record of payment.

so heres where we are at now as it turns out jim stole the ring from SAM and sold it to my friend frank. now SAM has come into my store as he knows where jim sold it because my good costumer sent him over. i want to help to help sam get back at jim and put him in jail for stealing his ring and many other things he is a all around bad guy liar cheat etc swindled money from a lot of people.

but i do not want my friend frank to be out of his 8500.00 the guy said he would posibly pay for the ring back the price of which frank can proove he paid. in return for a sworn statement against Jim. but im concerned that i will bring the ring to the store to dell to the guy and he will just take it back as it was his in the first place. we had no idea that it was stolen from him at the time. and technically it was not stolen as he gave it to Jim to sell for him but jim never paid him the money for it.

so sam knows that the ring was sold here but he doesn't know who it was sold to except he knows frank's real first name.

what can be done tom me if i don't give up franks name 2 people can say that i said that jim sold it to my friend so in court it would be 2 aginst one. but can they make me give up franks identity?

or 2 how can i broker the ring back to the rightful owner for what my friend paid without him just taking it ?

lastly the whole transaction took place 1 year ago so i don't know if that helps or not?

please give me some idea what to do

thanks so much

[Mr. Knowitall]

Report it all to the police and let them handle it. Don't lie.

[killer14163]

im afraid if i contact police they will just take it and give it to the guy -- 8500 is a lot of money to be out of for my friend he just lost job etc it would kill him. don't want to be a pain and i feel for the guy that got his ring taken - but like i said he gave it to be sold it was not stolen from him -- the guy that stole it just never gave him the money.

here is what wiki says
In the U.S. and most other countries, if the individual knew the goods were stolen then it is usually prosecuted as a misdemeanor or felony, depending on value of stolen goods. If an individual knows about themselves having possession of stolen goods from another state, then, according to numerous federal laws, it is prosecuted as a federal crime. If the individual didn't know the goods were stolen, then the goods are returned to the owner and the individual is not prosecuted. Though there are often exceptions, because it is not easy to prove or disprove simple knowledge.

[seniorjudge]

Report it all to the police and let them handle it. Don't lie.

I agree 100%.

[Scruit]

If you acted in good faith and had absolutely no knowledge that the ring could be stolen, then you did nothing wrong. Contact the police. If your friend is out 8500 that's none of your doing.

If you KNOW now that the ring was stolen and conceal that fact, then NOW you are acting in bad faith. If the rightful owner is already knocking on your door, the police won't be far behind. You need to start off on the right foot.

I have to believe that 8500 is felony territory, and one heck of a civil suit of the buyer if the stolen ring tries to hold YOU accountable for brokering a deal with a stolen ring (even if you honestly didn't know it at the time, they can still accuse you of knowing it was stolen) - if it was me I'd want to consult with a lawyer about how best to proceed.

If you have acted in good faith up to now, then now is not the time to start acting in bad faith. Why would you risk a felony charge (which isn't going to help your business) by starting to act in bad faith now? Why would you put that all on the line to protect the person who stole the ring? The buyer if the ring is going to lose it no matter what - the question is "is he going to come after the thief for his 8500, or YOU?"

Where is the thief throughout all this? And the friend who sent the thief to you? Could he just give the money back and return the ring?

[Scruit]

So, it went down like this:

Sam---Gives ring to--->Jim---Who sells it to--->Frank
Sam<---Who does not give money back to---Jim<---Pays 8500 to---Frank

THIS WHOLE POST ASSUMES THAT: Sam gave the ring to Jim with the intention that Jim sells it (to Frank)
I am not a lawyer - and my legal training was in English common law...

Question: Was Jim supposed to pay Sam BEFORE or AFTER the completion of the sale to Frank?

My reasoning... My understanding of the law is that this is either a case of 'true' theft or conversion / Misappropriation, based upon at which point in time the crime was committed.

1) If Jim was supposed to pay Sam BEFORE the sale, then the sale itself was could be illegal IF the property could be considered stolen *at the moment the sale happened*. IF the sale is considered illegal for this reason then Frank must give the ring back to Sam and pursue Jim for his 8500 back.

2) If Jim was supposed to collect money from Frank and give it back to Sam, then the SALE itself was legal, however Jim has committed an act of conversion/misappropriation by doing something with the money other than what the owner (Sam) entrusted him with the money for (kept it, instead of giving it to Sam). In this case, the sale to Frank was legal and Frank now owns the ring. Frank separately owes Sam 8500.

At the end of the day, I believe that Jim should be in the clear: Sam gave the ring to Frank with the intention that Frank sells it (to Jim). Jim sold it to Frank. What Jim subsequently did with the money he owed to Sam is between Jim and Sam.