my fraudulent credit usage

What is the name of your state? California
about 3 yrs. ago i got into a drug addiction that caused me to write checks on my closed accounts and all my credit cards used them to and payed them off with bad checks to use them again somy question is: this week i began to file bankruptsy and i wanted to know if that would clean my slate cause i keep getting calls about the creditors gonna file charges against me cause they want their payments... not sure you can understand my situation but if you can i really need some advise. thank you, tina williams

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally Posted by spunnie

What is the name of your state? California
about 3 yrs. ago i got into a drug addiction that caused me to write checks on my closed accounts and all my credit cards used them to and payed them off with bad checks to use them again somy question is: this week i began to file bankruptsy and i wanted to know if that would clean my slate cause i keep getting calls about the creditors gonna file charges against me cause they want their payments... not sure you can understand my situation but if you can i really need some advise. thank you, tina williams

My response:

Sorry. Only someone who's a druggie, and currently experiencing LSD back-to-back flashbacks could understand what you're saying.

IAAL

[AttorneyOney]

When you say "file charges", are they threatening you with criminal prosecution? If so, you may have a claim against them under fair debt collection laws. If they're just threatening a civil lawsuit, you may or may not have a fair-debt-collection claim against them depending on the exact content of the threats they're making, but the lawsuit isn't going to do them any good unless you have assets that are worth going after.

There are two different kinds of bankruptcy. Chapter 7 is a "liquidation", in which the trustee takes all your non-exempt assets and sells them for the benefit of your creditors. At the end, you get a discharge of MOST of your debuts, but not [according to section 523(a)(2)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code] debts incurred by false pretenses or actual fraud. Any creditor asserting that ground must [according to section 523(c)(1)] file what's called an "adversary proceeding" in a bankruptcy case seeking a declaration of nondischargeability. If they don't, their claims will be discharged. The creditors have the burden of proof. If they can prove that you took cash advances with no intention of paying the bills, they might be able to except those debts from your discharge.

No one can really predict how a court would rule on the issues in your case. Much would depend on the judge you get, how long you've been clean & sober, the extent of your committment to a 12-step recovery program, and other factors.

A case under chapter 13 would yield a different result. The "super discharge" of section 1328 includes those 523(a)(2) debts, which is one of the reasons people sometimes prefer ch. 13 to ch. 7. In ch. 13, you must use your disposable income to pay off some percentage of your debts over 3 to 5 years. It's likely to be a spartan existence.

I will guess that you're probably just getting back on your feet, don't own much property, and don't have much income. There's nothing wrong with telling your creditors all about your current situation (without volunteering how their money got spent) in the hope that they'll realize you're judgment proof and simply go away. Later on, if you have some extra income, you could think about ch. 13 again.

But your first stop ought to be a legal aid office to get some practical advice applicable to your actual situation in light of local conditions. If bankruptcy is right for you, they may be able to steer you to a pro bono [i.e., free] or low-cost program.

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

I guess Walter Oney was having an LSD flashback.

Walter, any of us could have responded to this writer (poor spelling and grammar aside). However, we have some moral dilemmas to deal with in this matter. The drugs, the fraud, the criminality of the entire scenario. If fraud is proved by the creditors, it's going to be curtains for our writer - - no BK is available for intentional, and fraudulent, actions.

IAAL