What to do? Unintentional Perjury

[tc72]

Hello, I am hoping for some direction in something very serious. My family had a short sale 3 years ago and part of the settlement was a judgement affidavit presented to me saying that 2 judgements were not mine. At the time I did not recognize the name or amount. We have had a lot of debt trouble and honestly at the time we were overwhelmed. There is no doubt I should have known but I can't fix this now.

Now we were hoping to recover and possibly try to buy a small home. On my records check today at the courthouse to learn more about my debt, I see that the affidavit I signed is wrong. From what I read I have no defense. The judgements were mine.

While no one at the moment is coming after me, I am in complete shock and realize the heaviness of the situation. This appears to be a class 5 felony with jail time. Please offer some guidance on how to deal with this. I feel like my life is over.

 

[mightymoose]

If it was unintentional it was not perjury.
You still have a mess on your hands with the debt though.

 

[disagreeable]

Wait until the issue falls off your record to seek credit. You will then not be in a conflicting information scenario.

 

[tc72]

I don't think the documents fall out of court record - and I want to resolve this error. Is there a way to refile with correct info? But I'm very worried about all of this.

 

[army judge]

You might wish to consult with a local criminal defense attorney, maybe even two or three

The initial consultation is normally free of charge.

So, go prepared and ask plenty of questions.

By doing this, he or she can advise you of the likelihood of any criminal prosecutions being brought against you because of this incident.

An attorney in your county can best advise you if local prosecutors tend to file against people for these alleged misdeeds.


Sent from my iPad3 using Tapatalk HD.

 

[army judge]

Hello, I am hoping for some direction in something very serious. My family had a short sale 3 years ago and part of the settlement was a judgement affidavit presented to me saying that 2 judgements were not mine. At the time I did not recognize the name or amount. We have had a lot of debt trouble and honestly at the time we were overwhelmed. There is no doubt I should have known but I can't fix this now.

Now we were hoping to recover and possibly try to buy a small home. On my records check today at the courthouse to learn more about my debt, I see that the affidavit I signed is wrong. From what I read I have no defense. The judgements were mine.

While no one at the moment is coming after me, I am in complete shock and realize the heaviness of the situation. This appears to be a class 5 felony with jail time. Please offer some guidance on how to deal with this. I feel like my life is over.

I was thinking about your post.

I don't know what you may have committed (or even what you could be charged with), so I sought out the definition of perjury in your state.

Did you commit perjury?

If you did, don't admit to anything.

You have the right to remain silent, and would be best advised to do so, if charged.

Then you should hire or ask the court to appoint an attorney to represent you (assuming you are even charged).

You may have committed (assuming you did anything at all criminally), a fraud, a false filing, or some other white collar crime.

The statutory definition of perjury in VA is quoted below.

Perjury is defined as willfully giving incomplete, misleading, or simply false testimony while under oath. It is usually used to refer to a court trial. There is also perjury by making false statements in some official capacity. Some legal documents are signed "under penalty of perjury," meaning that if someone lies about anything on that form, they could face perjury charges.

There are two elements that must arise in order to properly charge a person with perjury.

The first element is intent. The person who is perjuring themselves must intend for the lie to be deliberate and not accidental or unknowing. If the witness believes that he or she is telling the truth, the testimony is not perjury, although it may cause confusion during a legal proceeding or for a jury, it is not a crime.

The second element is that the lie during testimony (or in a writing) must be relevant to the trial by having a direct impact on the outcome. If the witness lies about something which is not relevant, such as their age it is not seen very favorably but it is not perjury. Outside of the courtroom if someone falsifies information on a document such as a tax return and the document states "under penalty of perjury" it is in fact perjury.

The crime of getting another person to commit perjury is called subornation of perjury. If a person who is giving testimony during a criminal proceeding, later changes their statement during testimony they can escape the charge of perjury.

Most people who are charged with perjury are convicted because of other evidence or testimony that conflicts with the statements or written declarations of the person being charged. In the case of a written declaration "under penalty of perjury" facts come to light that do not support the claims of the person who signed or authenticated a document to be true. An example of this would be falsifying tax documents; if it comes to light the person knowingly hid (or misstated) their income they could be charged with perjury. In legal proceedings, if other witnesses or evidence conflicts with the original statements made by a person and the other witnesses or evidence is credible then a person may be charged with perjury.



However, a charge is NOT a conviction.

Perjury is not a complicated crime and as such perjury cases can be defended.

It is up to the prosecutor to prove the statement made or document signed were done so with a specific intent to perjure.

A person could feasibly contend that they believed that the testimony given and or documents signed were to the best of their knowledge truthful at the time testimony was given or upon signing the document.

A person can recant or change their testimony, and usually would not be charged.

The BEST thing you can do is wait, and consult a local attorney.

ANYTHING you discuss with that attorney is privileged and protected, should you ever be charged at a later date.

Do not assist in your own conviction by speaking about this, admitting anything, or poking in dark corners.

OP, this is the statutory definition of perjury in your state, VA:

§ 18.2-434. What deemed perjury; punishment and penalty.

If any person to whom an oath is lawfully administered on any occasion willfully swears falsely on such occasion touching any material matter or thing, or if a person falsely make oath that any other person is 18 years of age or older in order to obtain a marriage license for such other person, or if any person in any written declaration, certificate, verification, or statement under penalty of perjury pursuant to § 8.01-4.3 willfully subscribes as true any material matter which he does not believe is true, he is guilty of perjury, punishable as a Class 5 felony. Upon the conviction of any person for perjury, such person thereby shall be adjudged forever incapable of holding any office of honor, profit or trust under the Constitution of Virginia, or of serving as a juror.

 

[tc72]

Thank you. I have retained an attorney and appreciate the good advice.