Criminal Statute of Limitations

[jwallace]

I have been looking all over for the general criminal statute of limitations for the state of california, however I cannot seem to find them! I have been all over MGL etc.. the closest thing I have even found was

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/rules/titlefour/title4-07.htm#TopOfPage

which is obviously not what I am looking for. My concerns would be around the topic of fraud. More specifically credit card fraud, unauthorized debit card access fraud, and bank fraud. Now I hear there are NO statute of limitations governing any type of fraud, but then again I would like to be sure. Thanks

 

[iwannahelpu]

heya J

Do you feel comfortable telling me more specifics about what happened? Odds are if the deeds were done more than 5 years ago, most DA's will consider it a cold case and not bother with it...unless we're talking about substantial mounts of money.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I have been looking all over for the general criminal statute of limitations for the state of california, however I cannot seem to find them! I have been all over MGL etc.. the closest thing I have even found was

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/rules/titlefour/title4-07.htm#TopOfPage

which is obviously not what I am looking for. My concerns would be around the topic of fraud. More specifically credit card fraud, unauthorized debit card access fraud, and bank fraud. Now I hear there are NO statute of limitations governing any type of fraud, but then again I would like to be sure. Thanks

As a whole whether you are talking criminal or civil issues, fraud presents a unique problem. In many instances you cannot find out who the person is who defrauded you and the victim should not be punished because the criminal was good at concealing his/her crime. I can't say for sure but in most states, at least civilly, the statute of limitations runs 3-6 years after the date the fraud was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered. In CA I believe it is 3 years. I find that in most instances the SOL will not provide you the relief sought if the period of time is not more than 2-3 years at a minimum. Good luck to you.

 

[Scooterdog]

Was a charge filed, or you want to know how long they have to file a criminal complaint?

Misdomeanor or Felony?

Man, just type in "criminal statute of limitations" in your seach bar, you should find a list per state. That would be a start.

 

[CdwJava]

PC 799 through 805 covers the SOL for California crimes.

(click the link at the beginning of the above sentence ...)

It depends upon the details, but the SOL for most fraud cases would be three years from the time of discovery.

- Carl