Ticket Fraud for Public Transportation in Oregon

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Oregon

So I ride TriMet everday, its a train, I get on one stop and get off the next stop, its not even a minute ride. As I was paying someone offered me their train ticket, it happens a lot, I didnt realize that it was a youth pass since they all look the same. There were transit police checking for tickets i showed them mine and thats when they said i didnt have the right one, so I had a valid pass just not the right one, but since I am new to the pdx area I wasnt aware of these rules. So the officer made me ride the train to the last stop, he asked me for all my information I gave him everything he asked for, I cooperated, and was respectful. This is my first time ever being in trouble with the law, first time being in trouble in general. He kept telling me about me going to jail and talking about felony's, and with this ever being my first "offence" I don't know what any of these words really mean. The train ticket is $2.50, he gave me the ticket and it says the fine is $2,500. I have to call for a hearing and set up a date. I did some research online about TriMet and it says that the transit police arent very nice and dont do warnings like the trimet inspectors and that the fine is no more than $175. I'm just wondering what i should do, and why my fine was $2,500, will it be lowered? What is a hearing and what happens during it? Should I get a lawyer? The officer kept bringing up jail time, will I be going to jail? I'm really confused on this and I'm not to sure what to do.

Thank you.

Apparently it is only your first time being caught committing fraud. You confessed to committing fraud frequently. The max fine is $250. Perhaps you were foolish enough to explain that you committed the same offense at least 10 times and were ticketed for your confession.

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Quoting Disagreeable

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The max fine is $250. Perhaps you were foolish enough to explain that you committed the same offense at least 10 times and were ticketed for your confession.

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LOL. I don't care who ya are, that's funny right thar! But, I'm thinking that either the officer misplaced a decimal point when writing the citation or OP is misreading it.

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Quoting Disagreeable

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Apparently it is only your first time being caught committing fraud. You confessed to committing fraud frequently. The max fine is $250. Perhaps you were foolish enough to explain that you committed the same offense at least 10 times and were ticketed for your confession.

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I'm not sure if you are being sarcastic in your post but OP did not commit fraud unless she printed that ticket herself ;). If anyone committed fraud it was the person that sold a youth ticket to an adult. http://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/chapter/165

OP, you are not going to jail and you did not committee fraud. To use a youth ticket to save a buck (not even a buck 2.50-1.65=0.85) is not exactly fair-jumping. Total ticket to ride $2.50 and TriMet was shorted out of 85 cents. Tell the judge what happened and now you are educated as to the different tickets. The base fine for not having a valid ticket is $175.00 with a max fine is $250 for each offence. You were not issued an exclusion (meaning prohibited from using TriMet for 90 days). Go to court explain, get the fine reduced and pay the fine and be done with it.

It is illegal to resell TriMet ticket on their property so only buy them from TriMet. The enforcement is to prevent counterfeit tickets and tickets bought with stolen CC's and then resold.

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Quoting budwad

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I'm not sure if you are being sarcastic in your post but OP did not commit fraud unless she printed that ticket herself ;). If anyone committed fraud it was the person that sold a youth ticket to an adult.

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You are correct that it does not appear that OP committed fraud or forgery. However, you are mistaken that she would have had to print the fare ticket herself to do so. There are several other ways to commit forgery, including presenting a forged instrument. You might want to actually read the link you posted.

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Quoting budwad

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OP, you are not going to jail and you did not committee fraud. To use a youth ticket to save a buck (not even a buck 2.50-1.65=0.85) is not exactly fair-jumping. Total ticket to ride $2.50 and TriMet was shorted out of 85 cents.

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You need to rethink your math. Fair jumping is exactly the offense OP knowingly committed. Fare tickets are not transferable and are intended for ONE person to ride to their destination or distance paid for. OP did not buy ANY fare and instead chose to knowingly re-use a proof of fare payment that had already been used by someone else. So, she attempted to cheat TriMet out of a full adult fare, not just the difference between an adult and youth fare. While your morals and ethics may be so low as to believe that such thievery is ok because “everyone does it,” that really doesn’t make it legal or even ethically justifiable.

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Quoting budwad

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Tell the judge what happened and now you are educated as to the different tickets. The base fine for not having a valid ticket is $175.00 with a max fine is $250 for each offence. You were not issued an exclusion (meaning prohibited from using TriMet for 90 days). Go to court explain, get the fine reduced and pay the fine and be done with it.

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That may work…or may not. If OP goes in front of the judge with the “it’s no big deal” attitude that you are portraying, the judge very well may not be very willing to just reduce the fine (as you seem to think is already a done-deal).

I

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Quoting budwad

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t is illegal to resell TriMet ticket on their property so only buy them from TriMet. The enforcement is to prevent counterfeit tickets and tickets bought with stolen CC's and then resold.

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Yes, enforcement does want to hamper those activities…enforcement also is aimed at catching fare evaders who are not paying for the service provided! And, by the way, it is illegal to sell, give, or transfer in any way a fare ticket from TriMet (or any other public transit agency that I have ever know of) no matter where the transaction occurs, not just on TriMet property.

What we have here is a person that is scared that she might be put in jail for fraud. I answered her in a pragmatic way to say not to worry. If you or anyone wants to debate the finer points of the letter of the law then this website is not as advertised. You may be right and me wrong. But when someone comes here, I am thinking of them and not how smart I or you might be.

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Quoting mgf91

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I'm just wondering what i should do, and why my fine was $2,500, will it be lowered?

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What statute or ordinance is cited on your ticket as the basis of the charge and fine?

I think Budwad needs read the definition of the laws he cites.

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(1) Written instrument means any paper, document, instrument, article or electronic record containing written or printed matter or the equivalent thereof, whether complete or incomplete, used for the purpose of reciting, embodying, conveying or recording information or constituting a symbol or evidence of value, right, privilege or identification, which is capable of being used to the advantage or disadvantage of some person.

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165.007¹
Forgery in the second degree

(1) A person commits the crime of forgery in the second degree if, with intent to injure or defraud, the person:

(a) Falsely makes, completes or alters a written instrument; or

(b) Utters a written instrument which the person knows to be forged.

(2) Forgery in the second degree is a Class A misdemeanor.

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utter for legal purposes means to send into circulation. Remember that presented to TRIMET thing?

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Quoting budwad

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I'm not sure if you are being sarcastic in your post but OP did not commit fraud unless she printed that ticket herself ;). If anyone committed fraud it was the person that sold a youth ticket to an adult. http://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/chapter/165

OP, you are not going to jail and you did not committee fraud. To use a youth ticket to save a buck (not even a buck 2.50-1.65=0.85) is not exactly fair-jumping. Total ticket to ride $2.50 and TriMet was shorted out of 85 cents. Tell the judge what happened and now you are educated as to the different tickets. The base fine for not having a valid ticket is $175.00 with a max fine is $250 for each offence. You were not issued an exclusion (meaning prohibited from using TriMet for 90 days). Go to court explain, get the fine reduced and pay the fine and be done with it.

It is illegal to resell TriMet ticket on their property so only buy them from TriMet. The enforcement is to prevent counterfeit tickets and tickets bought with stolen CC's and then resold.

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Just show up for court and hopefully they lower the fine,they are not gonna give you a felony or throw you in jail.

Im fine with paying the fine, i would just like it to not be on my criminal record, especially with me being a teacher and going to school. And I'm not portraying a '“it’s no big deal” attitude'. I was respectful and cooperative to the officer, in shock/scared with this ever being in trouble with the law. I ALWAYS buy my ticket and i made a mistake of excepting her pass and not making sure it was an adult pass. Definitely a lesson learned and will be buying off their app to make sure things like this dont happen and have an extra ticket on hand if I'm running late for the train. If I pay the fine before the court day (May 5) do I still have to go to court?