Other Criminal Charges & Offenses Police complaint

jess miller

New Member
Jurisdiction
Oklahoma
Hello,
We own a small business and we sell and export tools and auto parts to overseas.
Last January one of our customers purchased some expensive tools, they wired the money to our bank account, however the parts were on backorder from the factory, 4 months later the customer cancelled their order and requested a full refund and now they are calling the local police department, claiming fraud. We spoke to him over the phone this morning and requested his bank information for a full refund. However the customer now claims he has filed a police report and they are about to arrest us. The police came to our office this morning and took some information from us.
Anyone know if someone living in another country needs to come personally and file an affidavit at the local police station so they can forward it to the prosecutor? because everything sounds weird to us.
 
Hello,
We own a small business and we sell and export tools and auto parts to overseas.
Last January one of our customers purchased some expensive tools, they wired the money to our bank account, however the parts were on backorder from the factory, 4 months later the customer cancelled their order and requested a full refund and now they are calling the local police department, claiming fraud. We spoke to him over the phone this morning and requested his bank information for a full refund. However the customer now claims he has filed a police report and they are about to arrest us. The police came to our office this morning and took some information from us.
Anyone know if someone living in another country needs to come personally and file an affidavit at the local police station so they can forward it to the prosecutor? because everything sounds weird to us.
To clarify, when you say "last January" you mean Jan of 20...correct?
 
Anyone know if someone living in another country needs to come personally and file an affidavit at the local police station so they can forward it to the prosecutor?

No. But he will have to come to a criminal trial to testify if there is one.

If I am reading your post correctly the order was placed in January and 4 months later, April or so, your customer cancelled the order and requested a refund. It's now 6 months since he requested the refund and you still haven't paid him.

No surprise that he's crying fraud and getting the police involved. There is no reason for not paying him 6 months ago other than you flat ass just don't want to pay him. And now you are looking for another loophole to avoid paying.

Makes you the bad guy in the story.

Process the full refund right now and maybe you'll avoid criminal charges.
 
No. But he will have to come to a criminal trial to testify if there is one.

If I am reading your post correctly the order was placed in January and 4 months later, April or so, your customer cancelled the order and requested a refund. It's now 6 months since he requested the refund and you still haven't paid him.

No surprise that he's crying fraud and getting the police involved. There is no reason for not paying him 6 months ago other than you flat ass just don't want to pay him. And now you are looking for another loophole to avoid paying.

Makes you the bad guy in the story.

Process the full refund right now and maybe you'll avoid criminal charges.
This customer is a corporation located in Singapore, we are a corporation LLC, located in Oklahoma. I wonder if this is tort? tort is not a crime. Right? should I hire a corporate attorney?
 
They never supplied their bank information, including the SWIFT number

That's an excuse, not a reason. You could have sent a check in Singapore funds.

This customer is a corporation located in Singapore, we are a corporation LLC, located in Oklahoma. I wonder if this is tort? tort is not a crime. Right?

Right. Tort is not a crime. Criminal conversion is a crime.

should I hire a corporate attorney?

Why? So you can delay the payment further? Send the money and you won't need an attorney.

Do you even have the money?
 
They never supplied their bank information, including the SWIFT number

I suggest you speak to a criminal defense attorney, just in case the police involvement becomes a police investigation.

I also suggest you discuss the matter with an attorney specializing in contract matters, or general business.

Once you've had those discussions you MIGHT learn additional information.

What EXACTLY did the police discuss with you?

Were the people from the police patrol officers or detectives?

Refunding the money NOW might create greater problems for you later.

See what you can learn, think about the new information you gather, then proceed according to the advice of counsel.

That means, you'll end up retaining the contracts attorney and/or the criminal defense attorney.

If the FBI show up, (or the police show up again) which could happen, you'd be best served to say the following; "Under advice of counsel, I've been advised not to speak about this matter. You can contact my attorney, Susan Miller at (222) 333-4444. Thank you."

Then make sure you say NOTHING more about the matter. You do, however, after the police or FBI leave, immediately contact your attorney, assuming you've retained one.
 
Anyone know if someone living in another country needs to come personally and file an affidavit at the local police station so they can forward it to the prosecutor?

That's not necessary, but it is unlikely that your local police will do anything beyond a bit of initial investigation. Nonetheless, it would be a good idea to involve your company's attorney (or hire one).

we are a corporation LLC

No you're not. Corporations and LLCs are distinct business entity forms, and there is no such thing as "a corporation LLC." You are either shareholder and/or directors and/or officers of a corporation or you are members and/or managers and/or officers of an LLC.

I wonder if this is tort? tort is not a crime. Right?

Hold on...it is correct that a tort is not a crime. However, the same act could be both a crime and a tort. For example, fraud is both a crime and a tort. What you have here is most likely a breach of contract, but one would have to read your contract with the customer to know for sure.

There is no reason for not paying him 6 months ago other than you flat ass just don't want to pay him.

and yet... (by the way, isn't there a rule at this site about name calling?)

They never supplied their bank information, including the SWIFT number

That's an excuse, not a reason.

Of course it's a reason. It's both an excuse and a reason. Whether it's a good reason or a valid excuse is a matter of opinion.

You could have sent a check in Singapore funds.

And how exactly does that work, Mr. International Businessman? Are you supposing that the OP's Oklahoma-based corporation or LLC maintains a bank account from which it can issue checks in whatever international currency it deems desirable? I can assure you that's not a thing that exists in the world. Of course, the OP could cut a check in US dollars, but we haven't see the contract, so we don't know if that's an appropriate thing to do.

And what exactly is the point of chewing the OP out for what's already happened? How is that helpful?
 
Guys, we don't know the circumstances of what is going on here. Giving the poster the benefit of the doubt, it is possible that an offer of a refund was made but the customer did not respond.

I'm actually surprised and impressed that the police showed up. I often hear in New York City from alleged victims trying to file criminal complaints with the police are often told that monetary disputes such as this one are civil and not criminal matters. I don't know what was said to the police but, if there was a report of some type of malfeasance or scam alleged, it's possible that the police might have deemed it reasonable to investigate.

I'd be inclined to follow what others have said above. Tender an offer (again?) to obtain bank and SWIFT information to provide for an immediate transmission of the funds. As there seems to be no question as to the rights to the funds, there may be less of a reason for the local authorities to investigate a potential bad act that has been remedied. In the end you're going to have to return the money anyway and you have no leverage to hold onto it.
 
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