American Express Wants An Affadavit From Me

[Tom Reid]

California

Back in 1997 my ex-wife at the time,un-beknownst to me, applied for and got an American Express card in my name and ran up $17,000 in charges. The account, within a 6 month period, defaulted and remains unpaid to this day.

The address she used was the residence i shared with her while married and i was never made aware of any balance ever owed to them since my real address and correct employer were not used when she fraudulently opened the account in my name. I have always had good credit and never looked at my credit report until now, i never had trouble getting things before. I recently applied for an Amex card and was told it was denied due to a previous balance. Thats when i found out about this happening. I called my ex-wife, she confessed to me and apologized (as if it makes it better). When i spoke to Amex initially after account declined, i said i had no knowledge and never had an Amex card in the past. Once they mentioned the time period and
address, i knew what happened..

They are not trying to collect from me since i told them it was not me initially and they want me to fill out an affidavit attesting that i have no knowledge of the account and that it was fraudulent. I do not want the card bad enough now to risk any action happening to my ex-wife (although she deserves it), but she is the mother of my children and yada yah..

My question is: if i do fill out the affidavit and attest the account opened up in 1997 was fraudulent, do i risk them doing a further investigation and bring action against my ex-wife even though this happened almost 10 years ago and the statute of limitations must have run out by now. Could i risk prosecution for lying on the affidavit that i had no knowledge (which i do now but not back then?)

Please help...

[Debt Guy]

Q. if i do fill out the affidavit and attest the account opened up in 1997 was fraudulent, do i risk them doing a further investigation and bring action against my ex-wife even though this happened almost 10 years ago and the statute of limitations must have run out by now.

A. Perhaps but not likely. Clearly the debt is past the statute of limitations for CA for purposes of collection. I don't know what the SOL is in CA for a criminal action (the crime was identity theft -- the fact that your ex failed to pay a debt is not criminal issue but merely a civil action). Regardless, AMEX cannot bring the criminal action. All they can do is refer the matter to the District Attorney who will decide what to do. My guess would be that the DA has better things to do than chase an old identity theft issue.

Q. Could i risk prosecution for lying on the affidavit that i had no knowledge (which i do now but not back then?)

A. Your affidavit should relate only to your knowledge as of date the account was opened. Read it to see what it says. If in doubt, you could always date the affidavit for a date before you ex 'fessed up.

If you are a belt and suspenders guy and want to be absolutely safe, then forget about having an AMEX card. If you want the card, you'll have to sign the affidavit.