Criminal Charges for a deposit not refunded?

[brokenomore]

I don't think this is about a check the poster issued but a payment the poster received as a deposit for some service or product they were selling.

That would not be a criminal matter.

I was paid in advance, and did not get the work done in a timely matter. I was unable to afford to repay at the time they wanted a refund, and asked if they would give me some more time to do the work.

They said "no," and wanted their money back, and I put this on the back burner for something to do later when I could, but they've gone this route.

Couldn't they make a case for "fraud"?

[brokenomore]

Will filing BK get NV off my back?

If this is for real, I wasn't even given the opportunity to stop this by paying. I belive he used the word "felony," and just paying back the money at this time is not necessarily going to make this go away, or at least that's the impression he gave me.

But I have nothing official from them. Nothing on paper. Just a phone number from someone who says he is in the NV district attorney office. His number is a cell phone number, so I could not trace the number to the courthouse.

[Faust]

I don't think this is about a check the poster issued but a payment the poster received as a deposit for some service or product they were selling.

That would not be a criminal matter.

[HHM]

Well, it is real. I think your attorney is overstating the issue a little bit. The District Attorney (in nearly every major metropolitan county) has a bad check division or a division to handle these types of consumer fraud issues. In that respect, it is not a "strong arm" collection agency; these are misdemeanor offenses (and if the amount is high enough, felonies).

However, your down side is minimal, but can be a hassle. If this debt goes unresolved, NV will issue a warrant, that warrant goes into the national database. Granted, NV is NOT going to extradite you for a $300 debt, but if you were to get pulled over in your state, and the officer sees this warrant, the officer will have the option to detain you.

Should you pay, probably not. Simply file your bankruptcy.

[brokenomore]

I received a business card delivered by a sheriff today to contact the District Attorney office in a certain county in Nevada regarding an "urgent matter."

I called the office and the special invistigator who I spoke with told me it was about a $300 deposit that I did not refund to a customer after a long delay, and that a criminal investigation is pending. I explained my financial situation, and that there was no intent to deceive, but that I could not afford to pay when they wanted repament.

He said that intent no longer mattered, and that charges could be made. He also asked if the party who made the complaint agrees to drop it, when could I make payment, and I said in about 10 days, but that I would strive to do whatever I can as soon as possible to make this go away, but he said it was too late for that now, that criminal charges are pending, but that he would be back in touch.

This was all a little scary to me, so I contacted my BK attorney, and he told me to blow them off, that they might have some kind of association with the DA office as collectors getting a percentage, that they would not prosecute me or force me to go to another state for trial over $300, and that if he calls again I should just tell him I'm filing bankruptcy and give him his (my bk attorney's) number.

My BK attorney said I could pay it if I want to, but that he wouldn't, and that it's not anything to worry about, that it's just some kind of strongarm collection technique, and that in NV this is a technique used to collect on bad checks written to casinos.