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Accused of refund fraud
I was recently attempting to return an item I purchased at a department store. I was confronted by their loss prevention manager where I was handed a letter stateing that they were investingating my refund activity and that no refunds would be issued until the matter was resolved. I was instructed to contact a man by phone to resolve these issues.
When I contacted him, he accused me of what he called refund fraud. I told him that was ridiculous, which it is. He told me that if I did not meet with him and his private investigator that he would contact local authorities. I told him to proceed with the local authorities because I had done nothing wrong and all my returns had been honest.
Looking back I recieved a gift for my birthday which I returned. The refund totaled more than $400. The person I recieved them from is questionable and I'm wondering if they were ever paid for.
If I am convicted over this, what could my sentencing be? I do not want to report my friend, but I certainly don't want to do jail time. I was told by an attorney that in California over $400 is considered a felony.
I am troubled what to do. Again, I do not want to report my friend, but if I am looking at jail time, I may have no choice.
Maybe someone could tell me what kind of sentencing refund fraud may aquire.
Thanks for any info.
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Criminal Charges
You are facing a criminal charge. If you plead guilty to "save your friend", who if you are correct probably already has a criminal record, you will get a criminal record. You will also have to pay court costs, a fine, and probably spend time on probation. You might be sentenced to a work program or community service, or even time in jail. Doing that to save your friend doesn't seem like a wise choice.