Help Please!! Trying to get my money back, what should I do??

Here is the situation.

In the summer of 05 I lent my friend $50 to play online poker and also $300 to pay off some traffic tickets before he went to the marines. We worked together at the same job and the situation was that he was going to receive a paycheck at the end of the week but he needed to pay the tickets before he would receive his paycheck. He promised me that he would pay me back once he got the money from his paycheck. Two days later he said that he was going to the marines earlier than expected and that he would pay me the money when he returned from basic training which lasts about 3 months. He said that he would call me by the 31st of October, which he never did. I also assumed he would call me either on thanksgiving or Christmas, which he never did even after the countless number of messages I left on his phone. I recently learned through a freind of a freind that it was just a rumor that he went to the Marines and that he is still living near me just in another city. Through some research I found a way that I can find him. I do not know what I should do or if I should ask him for the money or take him to court somehow, I do not know much about law and I don't know if I could get my money back if I did sue him since I did not make him sign anything about me borrowing him $300. However I did mention that I borrowed him $50 for online poker. That can be traced and used as evidence that I borrowed him money. Also I remember that before I borrowed him the $300 him and I went to our boss and asked her if there was someway to transfer me the money from his check because I was borrowing him money, I am not sure if my boss will remember this or if this evidence will suffice in court. If anyone has any ideas on what I should do I would greatly appreciate it. I am very strapped for cash at the moment and I desperatley need this money back.
Sorry for the long post, thanks in advance for your help

--Adam

Simple.... your ONLY recourse is to file a small claims suit against him and prove to the court the amount of money and that it was a loan.

Thanks for the reply, what if I can't physically prove I lent him the $300, I'm not sure if my boss remembers the discussion of giving his check over to me since I was going to borrow him money, that's the only thing I can think of as proof for it, there is proof for the $50 that I gave him for online poker, can I use that as some sort of reference to show that he is a liar and does not want to give me any sort of compensation.

ajd3 said:

Thanks for the reply, what if I can't physically prove I lent him the $300, I'm not sure if my boss remembers the discussion of giving his check over to me since I was going to borrow him money, that's the only thing I can think of as proof for it, there is proof for the $50 that I gave him for online poker, can I use that as some sort of reference to show that he is a liar and does not want to give me any sort of compensation.

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Of course, we do not know what you have, or don't have, to support your claim of a loan. It is up to you to present whatever information you have to support your claim of the funds transfer... and that it was a loan (and not a gift). If you can show sufficient to a court, you should get a judgment against him. If you can't, you won't.

ajd3 said:

...can I use that as some sort of reference to show that he is a liar and does not want to give me any sort of compensation....

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Proving that he is a liar does not mean he owes you money.