Mustang Sally
Junior Member
ArialWhat is the name of your state? Utah
This is complex, so bear with me. My wife's ex-husband is a retired Army Colonel. In their divorce settlement she was awarded the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) with the stipulation that she pay the premiums. By remarrying before age 55, she had to make only one payment to establish the account, then the account would become inactive as long as she remained married to me. SBP payments are deducted from the Colonel's retirement pay, and she was to reimburse him. Seven consecutive premium payments were taken out of his pay, six because of a clerical error. He dunned her for those seven payments for over a year. On October 10, 2005, she received a certified letter from him demanding approximately $2,500 from her or he was going to court.
I had kept out of this fray until then, but I decided to get the facts from DFAS (acronym for the agency that handles all military pay). I got an email from them saying they had refunded ALL of the excess premiums to the Colonel on January 3, 2005. The premium deductions had reduced my wife's portion of his retirement pay in a total amount greater than the first SBP premium.
I've done a little online research and believe his actions constitute mail fraud. He lives in Virginia, and their law seems to indicate the same thing. We contacted the local prosecutor and he said this is a civil matter and refused to take action.
This entire affair has taken quite an emotional toll on my wife, and I am wondering if there is any possible redress available for her. That he could harrass her for over a year for money he knew she didn't owe him is at least unconscionable, and in my opinion amounts to unlawful conduct.
Any ideas?
This is complex, so bear with me. My wife's ex-husband is a retired Army Colonel. In their divorce settlement she was awarded the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) with the stipulation that she pay the premiums. By remarrying before age 55, she had to make only one payment to establish the account, then the account would become inactive as long as she remained married to me. SBP payments are deducted from the Colonel's retirement pay, and she was to reimburse him. Seven consecutive premium payments were taken out of his pay, six because of a clerical error. He dunned her for those seven payments for over a year. On October 10, 2005, she received a certified letter from him demanding approximately $2,500 from her or he was going to court.
I had kept out of this fray until then, but I decided to get the facts from DFAS (acronym for the agency that handles all military pay). I got an email from them saying they had refunded ALL of the excess premiums to the Colonel on January 3, 2005. The premium deductions had reduced my wife's portion of his retirement pay in a total amount greater than the first SBP premium.
I've done a little online research and believe his actions constitute mail fraud. He lives in Virginia, and their law seems to indicate the same thing. We contacted the local prosecutor and he said this is a civil matter and refused to take action.
This entire affair has taken quite an emotional toll on my wife, and I am wondering if there is any possible redress available for her. That he could harrass her for over a year for money he knew she didn't owe him is at least unconscionable, and in my opinion amounts to unlawful conduct.
Any ideas?
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