Accepting paycheck from an employer who committed fraud.

[roden4]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX

A few years ago my dad retired from his job and some random guy he knew offered him a higher paying job. He claimed to be have millions and wanted him to manage one of his future businesses. My dad was also supposed to help him come up with ideas for new businesses that he'd help him start.

However over the past two years I've become very suspicious of him because they never seemed to ever get anything started and would constantly leave my dad in limbo. They'd go to city after city with the idea of starting some new business there but it would always fall through. Often this would strand my dad in the city for months at a time due to whatever leases had been signed there. All the while his boss would claim that he'd pay him soon but payment would never happen. My dad was forced to buy his own "company" car and "company" phone (which strangely his boss always used instead) and rent houses or motels in the city they'd be staying at. However, according to my dad his boss was paying for all his expenses. A few months ago my dad and a few others did receive a one-time paycheck of a few thousand dollars.

It turns out my suspicions were right. The guy was committing fraud (I think it's called "theft of services by deception" which he's already served time for in the past) by convincing others that he was a wealthy business man and getting companies to basically give him free housing, food, and car rentals during negotiations. On Monday my dad's "boss" turned himself into the authorities and now has theft charges against him. My dad probably still thinks he's legit but what are the possible legal consequences for him? He has basically had two years of his life wasted following this guy around and taken on debts (cars and phones) that he would have otherwise never done. Because this guy was paying my dad's expenses (housing, car payments, etc) he likely benefited from the fraud even though he wasn't actually involved in committing it nor did he likely know anything about it. I'm guessing the guy had another scam going on the side explaining where the money supporting him came from. Also what happens to the money when the victims try to recover it? Could my dad be on the hook to pay them back or does responsibility end with the one who committed the actual fraud?

 

[davew128]

Did you dad also send money to the Nigerian businessman trying to get cash out of his country?

 

[roden4]

That's the thing. As far as I know my dad was never actually part of the scam so he never touched any money directly (except the one time he got paid). I think since his boss had a criminal record and had filed bankruptcy a few years earlier (I ran a background check on him after I got fed up with his excuses) that he really just needed my dad to have everything in his name to avoid detection from suspicious individuals who were renting to him. And since all my dad's expenses were paid by him it was probably enough to remove any suspicions he had himself.

 

[CavemanLawyer]

The possible punishment depends on the degree of offense that he is charged with and on his past criminal record, because charges can be enhanced to a higher degree depending on the circumstances. For theft the degree of offense usually just depends on the amount stolen. If it is between $1500 and $20,000 then it is a state jail felony punishable by up to 2 years in prison. If its more than $20,000 then it likely is not going to exceed $100,000 so it'd be a 3rd degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. It sounds like this individual may have been ripping off many people and/or businesses so he would likely be charged with aggregate theft meaning that all amounts get added up to some total.

He may also be able to be enhanced if he has convictions for other felonies. The short answer to your question is that it just depends.

As far as the money is concerned, your father entered into contracts with people and those contracts are enforceable. He is entitled to restitution from this thief for anything that he has paid or will be stuck paying, but the fraud doesn't relieve him of paying for any services actually rendered to him such as a hotel stay.