Theft by Conversion

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Ga.

I took my son in for tubes in his ears over a year ago. I signed all the paper work and my husbend had nothing to do with the medical bills. ( He did not sign his name to anything not even the insurance check). Now he is being chagred with Theft by Conversion. We had been haveing money problems, So I thought I could pay off all of our medical bills, give the ENT center the remaning money (around 3000) and set up a payment plan to pay them off. All I wanted to do was owe one bill not 20. When I went to pay them they demaned payment infull and have refused payment repeatedly. Now My husbend is being charged with Theft by Conversion. Did I really do something Illegal? and Can they charge him? He holds our insurance.

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Did I really do something Illegal?

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By setting up a payment plan? No, that's not illegal at all.

I feel like there is something missing from your account here. What do you mean when you say that your husband was not responsible for the child's bills and "didn't sign the insurance check"?

You say "give the ENT center the remaning money". Remaining from what?

How did he get involved with the payments at all?

What actions did he take that led to the theft by conversion charge?

it sounds like OP received a check for the procedure (ear tubes) and instead of forwarding it to the provider, OP cashed it and used it to pay other bills.

First, why would the insurance company send a check to you rather than the provider?

Was hubby aware of your redirection of the money intended for the ENT center?

What is the charge based on?

The redirection of the check or the non-payment for services rendered?

So if I got this right...
Your son got the tubes, the insurance paid the bill and the ENT didn't get the check sent to them, it got sent to you. (I'm guessing bc they were an out of network provider?).

You then cashed the check (in your husbands name) and paid other bills instead of paying the ENT. The ENT contacted the ins carrier and found that your husband indeed cashed the check (although he didn't sign the check and if your saying that you did, you could be in trouble here).

The ENT is now last on the list to be paid when they do have proof that you were paid for the service. You stated:

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So I thought I could pay off all of our medical bills, give the ENT center the remaning money (around 3000) and set up a payment plan to pay them off.

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You thought wrong. They are under no obligation to do so. Your husband is being charged bc the insurance is in his name and someone HAD to have signed the check that was written out to him. All they would have to do to prove their case is show a cancelled check. I've outlined GA law for you below. You need to get a criminal defense attorney and ASAP.

How much was the check for? You only stated the amount that you sent to them after the other bills were paid.

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Georgia Code 16-8-2 16-8-4 (a) states that "A person commits the offense of theft by conversion when, having lawfully obtained funds or other property of another including, but not limited to, leased or rented personal property, under an agreement or other known legal obligation to make a specified application of such funds or a specified disposition of such property, he knowingly converts the funds or property to his own use in violation of the agreement or legal obligation. This Code section applies whether the application or disposition is to be made from the funds or property of another or from the accused´s own funds or property in equivalent amount when the agreement contemplates that the accused may deal with the funds or property of another as his own."

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very good gigirle. That sounds like it fits the situation to a "T".


Jenavieves:

from what it sounds like, if your husband was aware of the check, yes, he can be charged and very likey convicted of the crime. If your husband was not aware of what transpired, YOU are guilty of that crime along with several others.

You really REALLY need an attorney ASAP...no, let me change that; you need an attorney NOW!!!

I signed the check and yes it was out of network, however he did know.

They found out when I went in to pay them and told them what I did. The check was $7980. I can show where all of the money went.

We never ment to do anything wrong, I did not even know it was against the law until we got the letter.

I wish we could afford a lawer, at this point we are just hoping we can get one appointed by the court. But I have been told that they can only do that after the court desides if there is probable cause.

Niether of us have EVER been in trouble with the law, well he has been pulled over for speeding and we have 4 kids, Do you think they will take that into account? and Do you think there will be jail time?

You can't afford NOT to have an attorney.

The amount was over 500 bucks...this is a FELONY and punishable by 1-10 yrs in prison!! Please get a lawyer...beg and borrow from friends and family members. There is a good chance of jail time bc of the amount of money involved.

You have 4 kids...do you know how hard it will be for your husband to get a job with a felony conviction? McD's won't even take him.

I believe you when you say you didn't know it was a crime.
My guess is that the ENT has some connections in the prosecutors office. IMHO, this is lame but its the law. This could have been handled much differently but it wasn't, an attorney can help. Who has to decide if there is probable cause?

I am not sure if we have gotten lucky or not, maybe you can help. After the court today the judge sent us home so he could review Ga. law.

I thought I had signed the check but my husbend had and it was solely his insurence at work.... ( not so sure he signed but that is what the ENT center said )

The judge is saying that I might not have been able to enter into a contract on behalf of my husbend, there for there was no crime. What is Ga. law here?

Also we asked the judge about this code (Georgia Code - Crimes and Offenses - Title 16, Section 16-8-4.1), because we are not sure if it has passed or not. He did not know. If it has am I wrong in thinking that because we did not know and they did not state in the paperwork that it was a crime, we did not commet one?

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Quoting Jenavieves

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The judge is saying that I might not have been able to enter into a contract on behalf of my husbend, there for there was no crime. What is Ga. law here?

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If you need in-depth research of Georgia law and you're in a hurry, you can get started yourself at a site like lexisone.com or hire somebody to help you, but there's only so much you can expect from volunteers on a free forum.

What it sounds like is that the judge is seeing a contract between you and the provider for payment, and a contract between your husband and his insurance for reimbursement, but that as you weren't a party to the insurance contract he's not sure that you had any legal authority to agree to direct payment from the insurer to the provider or to bind your husband to convey the check to the provider.

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Quoting Jenavieves

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Also we asked the judge about this code (Georgia Code - Crimes and Offenses - Title 16, Section 16-8-4.1), because we are not sure if it has passed or not. He did not know. If it has am I wrong in thinking that because we did not know and they did not state in the paperwork that it was a crime, we did not commet one?

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What makes you think that there's a Section 16-8-4.1 to the Georgia code, or that it has any relevance to your case? (There is a Section 16-8-4.) You can look up the Georgia Code here. You can look up recent legislation here.

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Quoting aaron

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there's only so much you can expect from volunteers on a free forum.

here.

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Oh I know and I can not thank you enough for the help!!!!