[lkp120]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Pennsylvania

I'd like to know if this could turn into anything or if I'm just stuck with a lousy parent.

My mother always said that she'd just "taken care of" my college. I had no reason to think otherwise. As it turns out, in 2002 she forged my name, SSN, and signature to federal loan applications to the tune of $60,000. Then she defaulted on all of them, leaving me in the lurch. All of this was unbeknownst to me, as I received zero notice in the form of phone calls or letters from the loan company (or later collection company).

When I found out in 2007 and confronted her, she grudgingly agreed to make the payments on the loan until it was paid off. In return, I said that i would not file a police report. However, she has refused to refinance it or take a personal loan of her own to pay it off in full, thus leaving it in my name and on my credit report. Recently, she has alluded to her struggling finances and indicated that she may cease to make payments at all. I am currently (though not permanently) disabled and incapable of taking up the loan payments myself.

While I don't have on record any private conversations between the two of us, I do have a copy of the (very obviously) forged master promissory note.

Should I file a police report to cover my own behind? Would it make any difference with the loan company to know that the money was fraudulently obtained?
Is there anything to be gained by pursuing the matter legally, or will it likely become a she said-she said mess?

Thanks so much for any insight.

[OhMy]

I am sorry to hear of your problem.

You need to send off a letter to the loan company telling them just as you did on here.

1) That the signature is NOT yours and you had no knowledge of the loan.

2) You really need a lawyer to handle this for you. You can get a signature expert to swear that the signature is a forgery.

3) You will be able to remove this from your credit report and free yourself of this debt. The price though would be to have your mother sent to prison.

That is something that only you can decide what to do.

[Mr. Knowitall]

If mom doesn't have a record, I doubt she would go to prison. But if at all possible, the lender would want her prosecuted.