Our roommates are attempting to threaten us with pressing "Fraud Charges"
Now, here is the situation: My girlfriend and I moved in with 2 other couples, 1 couple who isn't on the lease and shouldn't be here and another who is. Now we have all agreed to go and pay 1/3rd of the bills.
At one time, they started posting some higher than expected numbers for the Internet Bill, and I called our provider. They informed me that I needed the last 4 digits of the billing contacts social security number. He had actually left his paycheck out in the open with this information on it. So I read it to them and have since forgotten it. I was able to obtain the information.
Yesterday, after coming home from classes at the local college, my girlfriend and I were sitting in our room and the power suddenly went dead. Now, I called the electric company and asked hey why is our power shut off and they asked me where I lived. I gave them the information and they told me the power is past due, an notice was sent out and your roommate made an arrangement to pay the money on the 15th. We gave them and extra 10 days past that and then we shut off the power. If you want to turn it back on it will cost $72 and a $25 reconnect fee.
Now with our agreement we pay them the money for the electric and they pay the bill. We lived with them in another apartment before this one, where the agreement was we pay $400 and they pay $225 plus the utilities. (Which worked out great for them because they paid a total of $325 a month and we paid much more because we needed a place to live.) They didn't pay the final bill over at the old apartment, which was a total of $75, thus the outstanding balance on the bill.
So the power was shut off and I left a note asking why and telling them they would need to pay $72 and $25 to get it back on. They left a note saying that we had no right to call the electric company and that if we have a problem with the billo talk to them. Then a second note saying that if we call again and pretend to be the Billing Contact, which we never did, we simply gave the address and when asked "Is this for "Mr. John Doe" we said yes, we are his roommates, that he would press Fraud charges against us.
Now as I understand, while using the last 4 digits of his SS# may be a tricky situation, when we are talking about bills and how much is owed there is no fraud. Fraud can only occur if I, transmit the whole identification document via any means, produce a document with said identification or if I use the document to gain some sort of economic reward.
Is this true? Or can my roommate, whom refused to show us the bill when asked, actually press charges of fraud even though he left his own information out in a public household area and I have not used it since?
So to clarify, I never claimed to be either of them, so no actual Identity Theft. I never reproduced the means of identification I simply read it off a pay statement he had laying on the kitchen counter. I also know that he broke the verbal agreement by not paying the portion of payment he agreed upon in the original verbal contract.
So what is my options now?
Also here is a copy of the federal law about fraud if you aren't up to snuff on it.
a)
Whoever, in a circumstance described in subsection (c) of this section -
(1)
knowingly and without lawful authority produces an identification document or a false identification document;
(2)
knowingly transfers an identification document or a false identification document knowing that such document was stolen or produced without lawful authority;
(3)
knowingly possesses with intent to use unlawfully or transfer unlawfully five or more identification documents (other than those issued lawfully for the use of the possessor) or false identification documents;
(4)
knowingly possesses an identification document (other than one issued lawfully for the use of the possessor) or a false identification document, with the intent such document be used to defraud the United States;
(5)
knowingly produces, transfers, or possesses a document-making implement with the intent such document-making implement will be used in the production of a false identification document or another document-making implement which will be so used;
(6)
knowingly possesses an identification document that is or appears to be an identification document of the United States which is stolen or produced without lawful authority knowing that such document was stolen or produced without such authority; or
(7)
knowingly transfers or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of Federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable State or local law;
shall be punished as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
URL to complete law http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/1028.html
Thanks,
Jeff
Now, here is the situation: My girlfriend and I moved in with 2 other couples, 1 couple who isn't on the lease and shouldn't be here and another who is. Now we have all agreed to go and pay 1/3rd of the bills.
At one time, they started posting some higher than expected numbers for the Internet Bill, and I called our provider. They informed me that I needed the last 4 digits of the billing contacts social security number. He had actually left his paycheck out in the open with this information on it. So I read it to them and have since forgotten it. I was able to obtain the information.
Yesterday, after coming home from classes at the local college, my girlfriend and I were sitting in our room and the power suddenly went dead. Now, I called the electric company and asked hey why is our power shut off and they asked me where I lived. I gave them the information and they told me the power is past due, an notice was sent out and your roommate made an arrangement to pay the money on the 15th. We gave them and extra 10 days past that and then we shut off the power. If you want to turn it back on it will cost $72 and a $25 reconnect fee.
Now with our agreement we pay them the money for the electric and they pay the bill. We lived with them in another apartment before this one, where the agreement was we pay $400 and they pay $225 plus the utilities. (Which worked out great for them because they paid a total of $325 a month and we paid much more because we needed a place to live.) They didn't pay the final bill over at the old apartment, which was a total of $75, thus the outstanding balance on the bill.
So the power was shut off and I left a note asking why and telling them they would need to pay $72 and $25 to get it back on. They left a note saying that we had no right to call the electric company and that if we have a problem with the billo talk to them. Then a second note saying that if we call again and pretend to be the Billing Contact, which we never did, we simply gave the address and when asked "Is this for "Mr. John Doe" we said yes, we are his roommates, that he would press Fraud charges against us.
Now as I understand, while using the last 4 digits of his SS# may be a tricky situation, when we are talking about bills and how much is owed there is no fraud. Fraud can only occur if I, transmit the whole identification document via any means, produce a document with said identification or if I use the document to gain some sort of economic reward.
Is this true? Or can my roommate, whom refused to show us the bill when asked, actually press charges of fraud even though he left his own information out in a public household area and I have not used it since?
So to clarify, I never claimed to be either of them, so no actual Identity Theft. I never reproduced the means of identification I simply read it off a pay statement he had laying on the kitchen counter. I also know that he broke the verbal agreement by not paying the portion of payment he agreed upon in the original verbal contract.
So what is my options now?
Also here is a copy of the federal law about fraud if you aren't up to snuff on it.
a)
Whoever, in a circumstance described in subsection (c) of this section -
(1)
knowingly and without lawful authority produces an identification document or a false identification document;
(2)
knowingly transfers an identification document or a false identification document knowing that such document was stolen or produced without lawful authority;
(3)
knowingly possesses with intent to use unlawfully or transfer unlawfully five or more identification documents (other than those issued lawfully for the use of the possessor) or false identification documents;
(4)
knowingly possesses an identification document (other than one issued lawfully for the use of the possessor) or a false identification document, with the intent such document be used to defraud the United States;
(5)
knowingly produces, transfers, or possesses a document-making implement with the intent such document-making implement will be used in the production of a false identification document or another document-making implement which will be so used;
(6)
knowingly possesses an identification document that is or appears to be an identification document of the United States which is stolen or produced without lawful authority knowing that such document was stolen or produced without such authority; or
(7)
knowingly transfers or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of Federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable State or local law;
shall be punished as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
URL to complete law http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/1028.html
Thanks,
Jeff
