fake pregnancy

[itisnotokay]

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

My cousins now ex girlfriend faked her pregnancy and infant death. She let the lie go all the way to a baby shower and car wash to cover funeral expense.
She let the truth be told but everyone that contributed to the fake baby deaths funeral wants their money back from donations and gifts. Are we entitled to this? She is not cooperating. Can we do small claims?

 

[ecmst12]

Could be fraud. I would suggest reporting it to the police and see what happens.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/cacode/PEN/3/1/13/5/s484

This could involve one charge of larceny for each count provable.

(a)Every person who shall feloniously steal, take, carry, lead, or drive away the personal property of another, or who shall fraudulently appropriate property which has been entrusted to him or her, or who shall knowingly and designedly, by any false or fraudulent representation or pretense, defraud any other person of money, labor or real or personal property, or who causes or procures others to report falsely of his or her wealth or mercantile character and by thus imposing upon any person, obtains credit and thereby fraudulently gets or obtains possession of money, or property or obtains the labor or service of another, is guilty of theft.

 

[CdwJava]

While it could be considered fraud, this might be difficult to prove. Was there a funeral? Or, did everyone help raise money and not attend any funeral?

I can see a number of ways that this might go sideways. But, it might be worthwhile to at least report this to to the police and see if they are willing to look into it.

Yes, everyone can go to small claims court. But, can anyone prove she was NOT pregnant? Can anyone prove that she had not intended to raise the money for a funeral? This might not be all that easy.

 

[itisnotokay]

Hi. She admitted she lied.

 

[CdwJava]

Hi. She admitted she lied.

And will she do so again in court? Is this admission recorded? Did she say WHEN she made up the lie, and what -specifically - she lied about?

If she said she lied after the car wash fundraiser, that would beg the question: Lied about what?

Remember, court is not about what you know, it's about what you can prove. Whether the police will take a serious interest or not might depend on the total dollar value of the loss(es). How much was supposedly taken in all of her alleged scheming?

Each person who donated money can always sue her in Small Claims Court. That might mean a lot of trials for a lot of people, but they also have to ask themselves whether or not she is capable of paying them back. If she has no means of support, suing her may be a waste of time. And if the dollar value of the loss is too low or cannot be easily proven to be theft, the police may not pursue it ... or, if they do, the DA may choose not to prosecute it.

 

[itisnotokay]

She is telling me that she is paying me back in July.
But I feel she should be charged. Have it on her permanent record...

 

[Antigone*]

She is telling me that she is paying me back in July.
But I feel she should be charged. Have it on her permanent record...

So what is keeping you from filing a police report? If you do that, you will have done all you can do. From that point forward it will be in the hands of the authoritites.

 

[davew128]

I can see this being prosecuted. There have been numerous instances now of people claiming to have serious or terminal illnesses and raising money for their treatment only to admit they lied about it after getting the money. I see this as no different.

 

[CSO286]

She is telling me that she is paying me back in July.
But I feel she should be charged. Have it on her permanent record...

Ahhh...this sends me back to third grade, when all the kids in my advanced reading group cheated on a test and we got threatened with it appearing on our permanent records and following us through life forever and ever and ever.....

 

[CdwJava]

She is telling me that she is paying me back in July.
But I feel she should be charged. Have it on her permanent record...

The longer you and the other witnesses/victims wait, the harder it will be to prosecute. Plus, depending on the dollar values involved and the details, it may become impossible to prosecute one year after the offense

Absent her confession, this is a case that would require some legwork. Depending on the resources in your local police department and local DA's office, they might not be able to pursue it. In CA we are seeing a great many cases drop by the wayside as a result of a lack of resources. My county's DA's office is not prosecuting nonviolent felonies due to a lack of prosecutors, and in larger jurisdictions property crimes are going largely uninvestigated due to more serious crimes taking the limited resources away. And, sad to say, in CA this situation is likely to only get worse.