- Jurisdiction
- Ohio
In 1997 I turned myself in on charges of RSP, Forgery, Theft. I plead not guilty and was represented by a public defender. In 1998, my public defender recommended I plea guilty to a lesser charge of 2 cts of theft, 1 ct of misuse of credit cards, and 1 ct of passing bad checks. I do so. The next hearing, my attorney did not show up, so another public defender was in court and agreed to stand in. She requested a motion for discovery. What happened was, I worked for a temp service. They placed me at Bocko Inc. doing accounts payable/receivable. I wrote myself checks (tons of them) and took the company credit card as well as a $50 bill, cashed the checks at various United Banks in the area, and fled to Florida before stopping at the mall to buy clothing and luggage with the credit card. I was ordered hundred of hours of community service (which does not show up in the docket) and to pay restitution to be determined by Probation department, and serve 5 yrs of community control, follow all rules. The next hearing said, I had to pay $50 to Bocko Inc, $8,970 to United Bank, and court costs, as well as attorney fees, follow all rules and that was it. The docket shows I filed an affid. of indigency as well. After 5 years, I was brought back for not paying off the entire amount, and thrown into prison for 60 days and then put back on probation for 5 more years. Then that time passed and I was told on my last day to sign a promissory note or go to prison. Since then, I made a few more payments and that was it. I paid a total of $1,150 maybe. Since then, I have been unable to get jobs, my own apartment, nor file for expungement. I have been denied jobs and while in college, I lost thousands because my degree in healthcare is not valid because of my felony. So here is the question.
United Bank is arguably the victim. Technically, they aren't but say that they are. Even though, they reimbursed Bocko Inc,, The bank had insurance or a bond that covered theft. They only paid a deductible. So their economic loss is not almost 9 grand. It's more than likely, $500. The real victim is the insurance company that paid the bond to protect the bank from theft. The law allowed back in 1996, restitution to be made to third parties, such as insurance companies or financial institutions, only if they were named in the indictment. Then in 2004 the law was amended. The conflict arises from the former version of Ohio's restitution statute, R.C. 2929.18(A)(1), which permitted a court to award restitution to third parties, including insurers. See former R.C. 2929.18(A)(1), 148 Ohio Laws, Part III, 5767, 5785 (an order of restitution "may include a requirement that reimbursement be made to third parties for amounts paid to or on behalf of the victim or any survivor of the victim for economic loss resulting from the offense"). The General Assembly removed that language from the restitution statutes, effective June 1, 2004. 150 Ohio Laws, Part III, 3914 (deleting language from R.C. 2929.18(A)(1) for felonies) and 3922 (deleting language from R.C. 2929.28(A)(1) for non-felonies).
All things aside, the economic loss regardless, is just the deductible. I know it has been 20 years almost since my conviction and I still owe 8 grand, but I want to get an expungement and I received a letter in 2015 from the clerk of courts demanding $7,800 immediately. I am not a law student, how was I to know the laws of restitution had changed. How was I to catch this mistake that my lawyers, probation officers, and judge missed? How could they not realize that United Bank only paid a deductible? So, I ask of you, what do I do? Where do I start? There was no victim impact statement listed in the docket. There was none read at court. 10 yrs of probation served, 300 hours of community service completed, $1,200 paid so far, and soon to be 20 yrs has passed. When the laws changes the rules, does it apply to me? They no longer allow third party recovery.
United Bank is arguably the victim. Technically, they aren't but say that they are. Even though, they reimbursed Bocko Inc,, The bank had insurance or a bond that covered theft. They only paid a deductible. So their economic loss is not almost 9 grand. It's more than likely, $500. The real victim is the insurance company that paid the bond to protect the bank from theft. The law allowed back in 1996, restitution to be made to third parties, such as insurance companies or financial institutions, only if they were named in the indictment. Then in 2004 the law was amended. The conflict arises from the former version of Ohio's restitution statute, R.C. 2929.18(A)(1), which permitted a court to award restitution to third parties, including insurers. See former R.C. 2929.18(A)(1), 148 Ohio Laws, Part III, 5767, 5785 (an order of restitution "may include a requirement that reimbursement be made to third parties for amounts paid to or on behalf of the victim or any survivor of the victim for economic loss resulting from the offense"). The General Assembly removed that language from the restitution statutes, effective June 1, 2004. 150 Ohio Laws, Part III, 3914 (deleting language from R.C. 2929.18(A)(1) for felonies) and 3922 (deleting language from R.C. 2929.28(A)(1) for non-felonies).
All things aside, the economic loss regardless, is just the deductible. I know it has been 20 years almost since my conviction and I still owe 8 grand, but I want to get an expungement and I received a letter in 2015 from the clerk of courts demanding $7,800 immediately. I am not a law student, how was I to know the laws of restitution had changed. How was I to catch this mistake that my lawyers, probation officers, and judge missed? How could they not realize that United Bank only paid a deductible? So, I ask of you, what do I do? Where do I start? There was no victim impact statement listed in the docket. There was none read at court. 10 yrs of probation served, 300 hours of community service completed, $1,200 paid so far, and soon to be 20 yrs has passed. When the laws changes the rules, does it apply to me? They no longer allow third party recovery.
