Friend Stole Money Entrusted to Her

[ayudaplease]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: FLORIDA
Please help me with determining what kind of case is the one described below and what type of Lawyer do I need to search.
Over a year ago I deposited twenty thousand dollars in a "friend/thieve account". The money was supposed to be deliver to my family abroad where she was travelling.She never gave the money to my family and even told me that she had spent it all and when I tried to contact her family she tried to blackmail me , telling me that if I try to recover my money she will send me to jail ( she though I had filed bankrupsty prior to give her the money and as you know that would have been a crime, she based that on a comment I had made about my credit )After that incident I was depresed and broke and did not persue anything againts her. Now, please help with some advise because I need to recover what is mine it took a lot sacrifice for me working in a non for profit company to save that money.

[PTPD22]

Well, from what you describe, the only crime would be theft. The attempted blackmail is not going to be prosecutable and you describe no forgery, fraud, etc. Unfortunately, even the theft is going to be very difficult for the police to investigate or for a prosecutor to file charges on…especially since you have waited “over a year” without even reporting it. You voluntarily gave this person possession and dominion of the money. So, without some kind of written agreement that the money was intended for someone else, there is very little evidence that the money wasn’t a gift to the person you gave it to.

You can report it to your local police and see what they say. But, I think your only recourse is going to be filing a civil suit against this person to reclaim your money…and even that is going to be a long shot, I’m afraid.

[Mr. Knowitall]

So, basically, you had $20,000 in cash that you were trying to hide from your creditors so that you could qualify for bankruptcy. You gave it to a friend to hold for you, ostensibly to transfer to a relative. Instead of sending the money to the relative, your friend kept the money and told you that if you tried to get it back she would report your act of fraud to the bankruptcy court? You then became depressed, and did nothing for more than a year.

You posted this as a criminal law matter. If you want to report this as a crime, and see if the police and prosecutor will charge your former friend with a crime, you need to make a report to the police. As previously indicated, this is complicated by the facts of your case - your voluntarily giving the money to this person, your filing documents with the bankruptcy court claiming that this money does not exist, and your waiting more than a year to take any action. I don't know what evidence you have of your giving money to this person, nor do I know what this person's response will be if the police ask about the money - whether they'll admit that they were merely holding it for you, whether they'll claim it was a gift, whether they'll deny any knowledge of what you're talking about, or whether they'll decline to say anything at all. Think about what evidence you may have of the transaction and the commitments and comments your friend made about the money.

[Disagreeable]

I suggest you immediately go to the police department and make a complete statement. Admission of your Federal crime, should be compelling grounds to pursue a charge against your friend. You will likely be able to attend the court hearing against her, before your prison sentence starts.

[ayudaplease]

Mr. Knowitall,
Maybe I did not give much information about what happened I was not hiding money from creditors. My former friend is a car dealer she tried so hard to sell me a car and prior to giving her money I told her that my credit was bankrupt. A SAYING TO GET HER OFF MY BACK. so MY CREDIT WAS NOT BANKRUPT!!!!!! While my credit was not perfect I did not want to buy a car.
She basically took that literally and did what SHE did. And you might not believe this situation got depressed and did nothing for a year because that money was intended for my sick Mon abroad I gave her the money so I can save 500 dollars in wires fees. Unfortunately took me that long to be on my foot again besides I live in other state. I traveled to try to recover my money to find out this person had moved out. I know now she is FL. So once again, WHAT TYPE OF LAWYER DO I NEED FOR A CIVIL SUIT???? THANK YOU

[Mr. Knowitall]

If you did not file for bankruptcy protection, I'm not clear as to why you were afraid of what you clearly would have known to be a hollow threat.

If you want to retain a lawyer to represent you, you would retain a civil litigator. For this type of case, many firms will want a retainer and hourly fee. If you want a lawyer who will work on contingency, you had best start compiling strong evidence that the payment occurred, that it was not a gift or payment for a purchase, that the person kept it, and that the person has money or resources from which you can reasonably anticipate recovering any amount awarded by the court.

Why was your sick mom (I assume that's what you meant by "Mon") traveling somewhere abroad, and why did she need $20,000 before she returned home? Why didn't you act immediately when you found out that the money had not been sent? If Mom was stuck in a foreign country in need of massive amounts of cash for her medical care or return transportation, depressed or not, I would have expected you to be all over your friend.

[ayudaplease]

Thank you very much!