She's caught, she's paying, and she's scared.

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
She's already got a job so why would anyone do another background check?
I guess it depends on where you live. Here, if you work with "vulnerable populations" (i.e. the aged, the disabled, or children), you have to get a fresh background check every year. They brought this in for exactly these kinds of situations. Just because we could trust you last year, doesn't mean we can still trust you.
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
She wrote my name on the back and then underneath my forged name, "in the care of Jane Doe." Jane Doe was her name. Why would anyone accept that check as valid?

It should say, "pay to the order of Jane Doe", but otherwise a 3rd party check is accepted some places.

I agree with everyone else. I'd let the system take it's course. If she's lucky, she can plead to a suspended sentence and still won't have a felony conviction. But if she's done bad checks, forgery is just the next step. If she'd do it to you, she'll do it to other people. She needs to answer legally for her crime.

Of course, maybe I'm just a little touchy about being stolen from these days. :p


One stole my sister's bible

Bit of trivia: Did you know that the Bible is the most commonly stolen book in the world? Isn't that crazy?
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
She forged my signature. It looks nothing like my signature...lol. Then she wrote on the back "in the care of." I haven't seen a copy of the front of the check, but I assume that, in her handwriting, which looks NOTHING like my father's, she added her name. And somebody cashed it. I totally think she knows somebody. On her FB somebody said she was his favorite teller. Well, maybe she was. She isn't now. She does work for an assisted living facility where I've been because my drama group has performed there. Nice place. Probably people with money she can steal.

I am more upset about my father than anything. When I got home from work today, I saw he had called me. He knows as much as I know about the investigation, but he is not savvy about the world in 2014. His first statement was "Did they arrest her yet? IS she in jail? They saw the check. She should be in jail."

Man, he wants blood.

Badly.

His bank is also investigating her and I'm not sure if he is also considered a victim. If so, she will get NO mercy from him. He gets revenge. I have that sort of family. He doesn't understand why I feel burdened having to decide the fate of somebody else, even though she wronged me. He thinks I should rejoice in locking her up the max and making her pay the max. Because of some of your wise posts, I now see that she probably should not be able to work around vulnerable people...so I may press charges as much as I can. But I will not do it with joy or the thrill of revenge. It will be done with reluctance, and because I fear for others she is coming in contact with.

Sometimes the anger and coldness of my family gives me more chills than the cold Wisconsin winter. Yet my dad has a right to be angry too. And I am upset that this is making him so upset. He is too old for this. Honestly, it is making me see my difficult child in a new light. He had his stealing days and never got caught. He was way smarter than this woman. But who did he hurt? How many? How old? How sick? I have no idea. At least he claims he hasn't stolen t for years and years and I want to believe it.

It feels like a violation that somebody did this to us. I can't conceive of trying to cash somebody else's check. I even return wallets to the people who lose them when I find them on the street. Heck, been doing that since I've been a teen. How can people live with themselves and do this to others?

I'm waiting for the cop to call back. He has to call my father and explain the process because my dad is getting over-the-top upset and doesn't understand why she isn't in jail NOW and he won't accept my explanation...so I'll ask him if he'll call my father. My father will yell at me, but he will be nice to the cop. That's how my family is....lol.

I do love my father. At least he didn't cast me off like an old shoe ;) I'm grateful for small favors.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Oh, also if she is actually charged and found guilty it will be in our paper, name and all. Adults are not protected in the newspapers regarding what happens in court. So, yeah, they would find out.
 

2much2recover

Well-Known Member
Bit of trivia: Did you know that the Bible is the most commonly stolen book in the world? Isn't that crazy?
Yes,thought about it and did know this also, have a friend with a store that sells gemstones and he said he had to quit carrying crosses because more "walked out the door" than he actually sold AND also some people he trusted, that bought things to make crucifix's, stole a bunch of stuff to make them from him too. Said they had been frequent customers and now he knows why LOL

I am more upset about my father than anything.
Since he is so upset, maybe you can call with him and just agree with him how terrible and disgusting what she did is. We all need to have our fears heard. It is getting harder and harder for those of those who live honest lives and play by the rules to understand what is going on in this society around us. I think we are fed up with being victimized by it is well. (I have had my CC number hacked numerous times and had mail stolen for identity theft, right now I am in a continuous fight over the over-billing and over-charging the cable company does every friggin month grrrr.)
I know I would be upset to hear that someone stole one of our checks because now they would have the routing number and account holders name and who knows what they can do with that in today's age! They can empty his account. I would be very angry as well.
 

one sad parent

New Member
I agree with Going North. You have to think of others she might do this to if not stopped now. This may also be an act that has worked for her in the past. Of course she's scared. Don't let the pain of what she has done go away too quickly our she well learn absolutely nothing.
 

one sad parent

New Member
Let the judge show her mercy. He or she probably will. This is NOT for you to do. You only have a snapshot of her circumstances. The court will see the whole picture. And yes! Absolutely she is undoubtedly stealing from the people she cares for! Here here (!!!) To that poster for pointing that out!
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Well, my dad is causing me more grief than the woman/thief...lol. He called again about how she should be in jail RIGHT NOW. I called the cops and got another one I know, told him my father is all agitated and he offered to call to explain to him that the charges have to be sent to the DA and nothing can happen this fast. This particular cops seems to want her to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law while the other guy was softer. Anyhow, this cop talked to me a little about her too. He seems to think she is not going to get off that easy.

I'm not sure the judge will show her mercy. She opened mail addressed to me, forged my name although she didn't even know me, probably got somebody to cash a check for her in care of her (she did not pretend to be me...she must have used her own IDs) and the person at the other end who cashed it is either in on her scam with her or is plain old stupid. My father's bank and the cops here are looking into who cashed the check because the institution put down a code rather than the name of a bank and nobody recognizes the code. Also, the postmaster is doing an investigation because she opened a letter that was not sent to her. So she has it coming three ways...village cops, dad's bank, post office.

I don't care what happens to her now that I thought about her doing this to the people she works for. I do feel sort of crazy. I have never been involved in anything like this before. I love to watch crime shows and am vitally interested in true crime too, but I really never wanted to be a part of a true crime, even a little one...lol.
 

raylea

New Member
I'm all about second chances. But if she has a history of bad checks, and I mean being prosecuted for bad checks I think it may be time for her to face the music. The biggest cons have the nicest faces and sweetest demeanors, how else could they "con" people into their schemes?

I am one of the worst money managers I will admit. Over the years I cant tell you how many checks of mine bounced. Either because I didnt figure my checkbook right or I tried to float a check a few days until payday, but I always paid the overdraft fee, paid where ever the check was too and carried on. These people who get charged for writing bad checks are blatantly taking advantage of a system they figure can give them a few extra bucks, to hell with the consequences. They are only sorry after they get caught.

The only thing that makes me hesitate about suggesting you press charges is how her children could possibly suffer. Thats a tough call. Im going to go out on a limb here and hope I dont offend anybody. I've known people who do these types of things, like forgery, theft etc.. and they usually wouldnt win parent of the year awards anyway. Maybe by forcing her to get a wake up call, straighten up and fly right she may get herself on the right track, and start a better, honest life for her and her kids. Hopefully she'll be forced to realize whats most important. Acyually I just re-read your post and SHE pays child support? As in she doesnt have residential custody? Wonder why that is, the mother usually has that custody unless there was some sort of problem with her. I wonder if she is current on the child support?

if she is that much of a dishonest person she probably shouldnt be taking care of such a vulnerable segment of our population.
I'm glad its not up to me which way this goes.
Sending positive thoughts your way for sure.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
My main concern is what she is capable of doing to the elderly population, the disabled population and children if she is allowed to work with them. She's 41 and it is unlikely that this was her first time, although it may be the first time she got caught or anyone found out who cheated them.

She has many children from four different husbands. I care about her children, but I'm not sure they're better off with her around. At any rate, she doesn't have custody of all of them. And I know those seniors are not safe with her. I thought that most of the folks in that assisted living facility were oriented, but I talked to somebody who used to work there too and she said they are mostly confused and could easily be taken advantage of.

Why should she b e trusted even to work at Walmart? Will she try to get a job at a bank? Her FB implies she was once a teller. What mischief she could pull if she got a job there. I am an honest person...I have to weigh everything. If I let her go, then there is blood on my hands if she hurts anyone again. If I let the police, the post master, and the bank investigate and prosecute then I cooperated without making the final decision myself, as only the judge can do. I really don't want to see her in jail, like my dad. I want her banned from working around vulnerable people and around money. Her husband has a good job. If she can stay married to him, he will bring home enough money to feed her. If she can't, it is her own fault. All of this is her own fault.

I have to think of the greater good rather than the one person. I am not going to settle with her. I'm going to let the people investigating do their jobs and will be a witness in court if called. The more I think about it, the more sociopathic I think she probably is. She did the crime. Let her face the consequences. She was in trouble with the law as short a time ago as last year. Guess she took the leap from bad checks to forgery...that we know of.
 
S

Signorina

Guest
"He doesn't understand why I feel burdened having to decide the fate of somebody else"

I am outraged that the weight of this decision has been put to you. It's not as though she's a minor or a relative or a friend that could deserve different consideration because of age or relationship.

Her fate has always been in her hands. It's not your responsibility or obligation to protect her from the fruits of her decision to steal. If she ends up in jail or unemployed it's her fault and a result of her choices. This is not on your conscience and you need to put it back on hers.

And if she is arrested - AFAIK - her fate will be in the hands of the (impartial) courts. Remember; you're the victim and not the judge/jury.

She's harmed you and your dad - she made a conscious decision to open the mail, forge the endorsement, take it to the bank and actually cash the check- she had plenty of opportunity to change her mind.

Let them prosecute her- protecting her out of compassion is not doing her any favors.

I love your kind heart-and how your first instinct is to rescue people (and animals) and its a wonderful trait. But you should not extend it to her-this is a very different situation. Xo
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Sig, you have no idea how much I appreciate your kind, smart post to me. Hope you are keeping warm ;)

We have decided to let the justice system take care of all this. Also, my father's bank will investigate her and so will the postmaster. I am relieving myself of all responsibility. It is the cop who made me feel bad. This lady obviously made him feel sorry for her. He is a very nice man, but he is also a cop and I'm going to let him be a cop and send this to t he DA. And we are not going to stop the bank from it's investigation and possible prosecution nor the post master's. You are right. She did it. It isn't the first time she has done wrong. She has a lot of alias's and was writing bad checks even last year.

Whatever happens is on her, not us. I know for a fact that I don't want her working with vulnerable people. I also don't want her to maybe visit her neighbors while they are at work (she works night shift) and lift their mail and try this again. I want to put a stop to that possibility. Mail fraud is a felony. Opening anyone's mail is fraud. My husband was the one who called the post office and they are LIVID and are going to launch an investigation which is a federal crime. You are not allowed to open mail not addressed to you even if it is delivered to your house. Period. The postmaster's investigation team is going to call both of us and my father. This is actually her most serious crime since it is a federal felony.

Forging a fake signature then adding her name to the check...can be a felony. Whatever it is, it is. It is on her.

Yes, I tend to have a soft heart, but I am very tough on the law. It is not hard to follow the law. She harmed my father, he is still overly upset. She stole from me. And it's not like she turned herself in or ever meant to.

Trust me, the softness now is toward the people she could steal from, not her.

Hugs and thanks for such good, solid advice.
 

svengandhi

Well-Known Member
MWM -

I agree with those who say that she should prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I speak from experience of having to make this choice. 20 years ago, I had to file charges against my only sister for credit card fraud. She lives in another state and I was pregnant so was unable to attend court there. The charges were dropped after what I believe was a phony suicide attempt. I haven't spoken to her since. She tried to scam my elderly aunt, but fortunately, my aunt was savvy enough at the time not to listen to my sister's requests to be placed on her bank accounts. Eventually, my aunt put me on the accounts and I managed her money till she died. One thing I did was never leave my aunt's checkbooks, etc. at her place - they came to my house as soon as home health aides starting working for my aunt. I also had her mail come to me as well once she moved to an assisted living facility.

This woman deserves jail, she deserves fines, she deserves public humiliation and the loss of her job. The place where she cashed her check deserves to be investigated to see if it's one person in a scam or the whole place. She was not smart to steal mail - the feds take that very seriously. The postal police are a very serious group and they are good at what they do.

Maybe she will learn a lesson in jail but even if she doesn't, that's x amount of time that she won't be able to rip people off.

By the way, my mother in law was a home health aide and most are very honest but I prefer not to put temptation in someone's way. It's the same reason why pain pills are locked up in my house, why I don't share my passwords or other things you do to keep yourself safe.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
She was interviewed by cop and bawled and said she was going to pay my father back. She even kept the envelop and showed it to the cop. He was sympathetic toward her. I could tell in his voice. So we are just letting him send this all to the DA and see what happens. Can take a long time. Her husband was with her and very supportive. He wasn't even appalled. He just said, "You should have told me you were overdrawn. I would have given you the money." That was it. Very mild.

She cashed it electronically because her account was overdrawn. Her bank is my bank. Tomorrow I'm going to the bank we share and showing them what she did. Maybe t hey should be more careful with their cell phone applications. It probably won't change anything, except maybe they'll shut down her account, but I feel they should know.

I'm so done with this I could scream. I hope she gets a felony, no matter how long it takes.
 

2much2recover

Well-Known Member
Any idea how she got your mail? In my case it was some guy driving around stealing all kinds of people's mail and he was caught with a boatload of mail in his vehicle. Fortunately, only my name/address was stolen - he tore of the front sheet of a magazine.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
My dad sent me a check, but forgot we moved two months ago. She opened the mail, saw it was a check and cashed it electronically. I'm going to talk to my bank tomorrow. I'm really steaming over this, mostly because of my father, who doesn't even know you can cash checks electronically. He never kept up with technology.

He will never understand how this happened. I expect a phone call anytime because he really has no clue...never got a cell phone or a computer and still, obviously, has a checking account.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Sounds like the husband doesn't know the extent of her past "activities". Either that or he is one heckuva enabler.

I hope she gets the worst the law has to offer. Good luck explaining all of this to your dad. I just finished explaining to my mum that she wouldn't have to pay a fee to change cell phone companies. She didn't realize that after years and years with the same company without upgrading her phone that she was no longer under contract.

She is much relieved. She is a technophobe as well.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
He knows. She was in trouble last year and a few years before that...bad checks. He just doesn't care. Today I checked her FB page and she glowingly wrote "It's so wonderful when your husband brings your breakfast in bed!"

Like some parents, this man enables his wife's bad behavior. He himself has no record, but he does not get upset at her when she breaks the law, apparently even when it is this serious and so silly. The first he knew of it, the cop told me, was when he showed up at the house looking for her and she was at work so husband heard the whole story. He did not appear angry. He was only worried about her. Three other husbands had tossed her out, but this one has been married to her for twelve years. It can't be much fun, but maybe he thinks of himself as a White Knight who can fix her. Or he overlooks her crimes.

You'd think she was some sort of raving beauty, but she is very plain and overweight, not that this is wrong, but it is interesting that the man, who is also an average looking man, is so wrapped up in her that he fixed her breakfast in bed today, probably because she blubbered all night about getting caught for her crime.

We'll see what the D.A. has to say about this. It can take up to a year for a case to be heard. I need to move on. It is what it is. In the meantime, she will be working with vulnerable people at an assisted living home and nobody can stop her.
 
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