stolen money

[jessiek]

asking for a friend:

he had $400 cash in his desk drawer.. friends came over, inadvertantly found the cash.. later he went to get the money and it was gone. he has strong suspicions that one friend in particular might have taken the money. he has no proof that his friend stole the money, but he is sure no one else could have taken it. anything he can do (legally)?

 

[Serge]

I'm no lawyer, but no proof means no case.
I guess he'll have to strike this up to a learning experance.
If it where a check or money order, you would be atleast be able to put a stop payment on it.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Serge has good instincts. You cannot sue someone (or prosecute them) because you are pretty sure that nobody else could have taken the money. You have to have good proof, e.g. an empty house except for you and a friend, you counted your money, put it in the desk, went downstairs to make coffee, friend A went upstairs, came down 5 minutes later, you went upstairs and noticed the money was gone. There is no other reasonable explanation what happened to the money and the circumstantial evidence indicating guilt of Friend A would be high in that example. In your example there are a number of friends and anyone could have had access to the money. Question -- how close are these friends that anyone could take it and, if they knew, would they remain silent?