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Lent Gambling Money to a Friend, Given a Bad Check

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  • 10-15-2012, 06:58 PM
    dustinisme2
    Lent Gambling Money to a Friend, Given a Bad Check
    My question involves criminal law for the state of: Mississippi

    Im going to try to post as many details of what happened so hopefully I can get the most useful advise possible. I'm not sure if what this person did is technically check fraud or not so hopefully someone more familiar with it can tell me and help me figure out what I can do about it now if anything.

    I live in Biloxi and about 2 months ago a friend of mine who lives in Atlanta came to town to gamble. Ive known him for a couple years and have seen him lose and win tens of thousands of dollars at a time. I had loaned him money before and didnt have a problem getting it back before.

    This time he came and quickly lost the money he brought and asked me to loan him what I had on me and he'd pay me right back. I gave him $4000. He lost that and asked for more. He said he couldn't take a marker or take money out his bank account because he didnt want his wife to know he was there losing. I gave him $6000 more. He lost that.

    Here is where I think he may have done something illegal. He asked for more and I said I couldnt loan him more. He said he'd give me a $10,000 check I could deposit in the morning if I gave him cash. I did and he did.

    The next morning he was acting suspicious and saying weird things abouts his bank just called him and said the IRS froze his account. I told him to bring me to his bank which was like 4 hours away and he did. When we got there I went in with him and listened. He was claiming to the bank rep that he had just deposited $30,000 and asking where it was. They were looking at him crazy and saying he only had like $100 in that account!

    I never could get him to admit he was lieing about having the money in the account and he just kept promissing to get me the money. To this day he has given me nothing.

    My questions are: Did he do anything illegal? If so, what do I do? Even if not, what can I do to get any money back?

    Some other info:
    *The money I gave him was from my business I own as a sole proprietor and the check he gave me was written to it.
    *I havent done anything with the check he gave me, I wasnt sure whether or not to put it in the bank and let it bounce or keep it.
    *Even though I gave this money pretty casually, it is a ton of money to me and I only gave it to him because I thought the check was good.
    *It seems like all his assets pretty much are in his wife's name except maybe a business he has 50% ownership in but doesnt make much money it seems.
    *He says he has insurance money coming in for a store he had that was robbed and sent me a copy of the settlement aggreement for $150,000 but its also in his wifes name. He claims he forged her signature and he will have the only access to it when it comes in. He started being vague and giving me the runaround lately though.

    Someone please help me figure out what to do. I know this was stupid on my part so please no advice on what I should or shouldn't have done. Thanks.

    Edit: In case it's relavent, I have a ton of texts and emails from this guy cooberating basically everything Ive said.
  • 10-16-2012, 07:59 AM
    Trailboss
    Re: Lent Gambling Money to a Friend, Given a Bad Check
    Frankly, without a written agreement to pay you back; I think you are screwed. Remember Bill Shakespears advice: Neither a borrower, nor a lender be. You *could* talk to a lawyer: see what he says. You *could* threaten to tell his wife: see how that goes.

    Me? I would be busting knees with a baseball bat!
    Of course, I never EVER would have lent such a sum, unless I could afford to lose it!
    And to a degenerate gambler, no less! ......screwed!
  • 10-16-2012, 08:18 AM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: Lent Gambling Money to a Friend, Given a Bad Check
    Quote:

    Quoting dustinisme2
    View Post
    Here is where I think he may have done something illegal. He asked for more and I said I couldnt loan him more. He said he'd give me a $10,000 check I could deposit in the morning if I gave him cash. I did and he did.

    This was a post-dated check?

    If he knew at the time he gave you the check that he would not be honoring it, you have a plausible claim for larceny by false pretenses; but what could a prosecutor prove? Also, if you have chosen not to involve the police, the more time you wait the more likely it is that they'll tell you that it's a "civil matter".
    Quote:

    Quoting dustinisme2
    My questions are: Did he do anything illegal? If so, what do I do? Even if not, what can I do to get any money back?

    Keep calling the bank upon which the check is drawn to see if it will clear? Sue him?
    Quote:

    Quoting dustinisme2
    I wasnt sure whether or not to put it in the bank and let it bounce or keep it.

    You want to incur bad check fees, just for kicks? If you deposit it and it bounces, you'll get it back - but you'll be charged a fee. If you call his bank they will typically confirm whether or not there are sufficient funds in the account to cover the check - although I cannot promise you what their policies are or, if other checks have been issued, that by the time your deposit is processed that money will still be in the account.
    Quote:

    Quoting dustinisme2
    In case it's relavent, I have a ton of texts and emails from this guy cooberating basically everything Ive said.

    If you make a police report, you can provide your documentation to the police. If you sue and he disputes your claim, you can attempt to introduce it as evidence in support of your claim.
    Quote:

    Quoting Trailboss
    View Post
    Frankly, without a written agreement to pay you back; I think you are screwed

    Why would you say that? Did you miss all of the facts that were given, including the fact that the borrower gave the lender a (bad) check to repay the loan?
  • 10-16-2012, 10:14 AM
    dustinisme2
    Re: Lent Gambling Money to a Friend, Given a Bad Check
    Quote:

    Quoting Mr. Knowitall
    View Post
    This was a post-dated check?

    If he knew at the time he gave you the check that he would not be honoring it, you have a plausible claim for larceny by false pretenses; but what could a prosecutor prove? Also, if you have chosen not to involve the police, the more time you wait the more likely it is that they'll tell you that it's a "civil matter".

    It was not post-dated. That is why I think it may be fraud. He traded me a check he said was good for cash, and the check was basically written on an account with no balance.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote:

    Quoting Trailboss
    View Post
    Frankly, without a written agreement to pay you back; I think you are screwed. Remember Bill Shakespears advice: Neither a borrower, nor a lender be. You *could* talk to a lawyer: see what he says. You *could* threaten to tell his wife: see how that goes.

    Me? I would be busting knees with a baseball bat!
    Of course, I never EVER would have lent such a sum, unless I could afford to lose it!
    And to a degenerate gambler, no less! ......screwed!

    This is exactly the kind of unhelpful comment I said I wasnt interested in.
  • 10-17-2012, 08:33 AM
    Trailboss
    Re: Lent Gambling Money to a Friend, Given a Bad Check
    Quote:

    Quoting Mr. Knowitall
    View Post
    Why would you say that? Did you miss all of the facts that were given, including the fact that the borrower gave the lender a (bad) check to repay the loan?

    Not post dated: just a regular check! This gentleman gave a degenerate gambler a large sum of money, ignoring the warning signs, which the gambler then lost! This on nothing more then a handshake! He may have some emails and what not, that the borrower will probably refute and which are no replacement for a properly signed loan agreement. Not even as good as an IOU signed by the borrower!

    Game over! Money lost! Lesson Learned! Move on with life....
  • 10-19-2012, 08:16 PM
    TheArgumentative
    Re: Lent Gambling Money to a Friend, Given a Bad Check
    Yes, if he gave you a check he knew he couldn't cover, then that's illegal and you can report it to the police.

    Yes, you can sue him to recover the money. It will be easier to win than previous posters suggest. He may not show up for court; even if he does, he may not dispute that you loaned him money with the expectation of repayment, and if he claims you gave him the money freely, it will come down to his word vs. your word and his check. You don't need a signed loan agreement to successfully convince the court that you expected to be repaid for the money you gave him; if you sue, you stand a good chance of winning.

    You'll notice I said you have a good chance of winning, not a good chance of collecting.

    Even if you win, you aren't going to collect anything from a man who happily loses $10,000 of borrowed money gambling. I'm honestly not sure why you agreed to lend $6,000 to someone who had just gambled away $4,000 of your money and admitted explicitly that he couldn't repay it. He doesn't have any money to pay you back with, and suing him won't change that.
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