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separated spouse forged name x2

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limpyL

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

Ill make it short and to the point

My separated spouse took out a power of attorney in my name digitally signing my name. (was never used that I know of)

we filed taxes jointly. refund check (amount Under $1000) was sent to her house (2 party check) and she signed my name and did a mobile deposit of the check

I know the amount is not a large amount but this is the second time she has done this that I know of.. What would be the steps to take for legal action or is there anything that can be done? I contacted IRS and they told me they can trace the check but they would need both signatures in order to start the investigation.

Thank you
 


Just Blue

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

Ill make it short and to the point

My separated spouse took out a power of attorney in my name digitally signing my name. (was never used that I know of)

we filed taxes jointly. refund check (amount Under $1000) was sent to her house (2 party check) and she signed my name and did a mobile deposit of the check

I know the amount is not a large amount but this is the second time she has done this that I know of.. What would be the steps to take for legal action or is there anything that can be done? I contacted IRS and they told me they can trace the check but they would need both signatures in order to start the investigation.

Thank you
Px Hx**************...

Limpy, Why do you start a thread for every thought?
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

Ill make it short and to the point

My separated spouse took out a power of attorney in my name digitally signing my name. (was never used that I know of)

we filed taxes jointly. refund check (amount Under $1000) was sent to her house (2 party check) and she signed my name and did a mobile deposit of the check

I know the amount is not a large amount but this is the second time she has done this that I know of.. What would be the steps to take for legal action or is there anything that can be done? I contacted IRS and they told me they can trace the check but they would need both signatures in order to start the investigation.

Thank you
Are you saying that she used the fraudulent power of attorney to cash the check, or that she just got away with doing it?

You can send her a certified letter revoking the power of attorney and you can provide copies of the revocation to the bank and anyone else where you think it would be relevant.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
A person does not “take out a power of attorney”. A poa is signed by the principal assigning the specified powers to the agent. A person creating a fake poa is committing a crime. Taking money owed the principal by using the false poa is also a crime. Report the crimes to the police

What the IRS told you was either misunderstood by you or just plain incorrect. Stealing money (as you claim your former spouse has done) is a crime.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Are you saying that she used the fraudulent power of attorney to cash the check, or that she just got away with doing it?

You can send her a certified letter revoking the power of attorney and you can provide copies of the revocation to the bank and anyone else where you think it would be relevant.
Op claims the poa was fraudulent so there is no need to send the claimed agent a revocation. In fact it would be a bad thing as it suggests the op did in fact issue the poa. That could cause issues if the op wants to claim the agent acted illegally under a false poa. You wouldn’t send notice to a person that stole your car but claimed you loaned it to them a notice you were revoking your permission to use your car, would you? That would suggest you did in fact originally grant them permission to use your car.


I would contact the banks involved to provide them notice claimed agent is using a fraudulent poa.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

Ill make it short and to the point

My separated spouse took out a power of attorney in my name digitally signing my name. (was never used that I know of)

we filed taxes jointly. refund check (amount Under $1000) was sent to her house (2 party check) and she signed my name and did a mobile deposit of the check

I know the amount is not a large amount but this is the second time she has done this that I know of.. What would be the steps to take for legal action or is there anything that can be done? I contacted IRS and they told me they can trace the check but they would need both signatures in order to start the investigation.

Thank you
Are you saying that she filed the joint tax return and digitally signed your name to it? If so, nothing is going to come of it. Frankly, even depositing the check isn't likely to cause much of a stir. As I said before, ask that you be awarded your portion of the tax refund when you file for divorce.
 

limpyL

Member
I will further explain.. sorry about being short..

Months ago she went online to our bank (we had separate accounts) and she got a POA electronically signing my name.. A few months later I noticed it and contacted our bank and stopped it. To my knowledge it was never used.

Originally She filed single and I filed for an extension because it was going to get messy (unrelated topic). She later agreed to file joint. We amended her return to a joint filing. We both signed it. The check was mailed to her, she signed both of our names and did a mobile deposit.

She did email me and telling me that she received the check. A few weeks later I emailed her asking if she cashed the check.. No reply..
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
I will further explain.. sorry about being short..

Months ago she went online to our bank (we had separate accounts) and she got a POA electronically signing my name.. A few months later I noticed it and contacted our bank and stopped it. To my knowledge it was never used.

Originally She filed single and I filed for an extension because it was going to get messy (unrelated topic). She later agreed to file joint. We amended her return to a joint filing. We both signed it. The check was mailed to her, she signed both of our names and did a mobile deposit.

She did email me and telling me that she received the check. A few weeks later I emailed her asking if she cashed the check.. No reply..
Ok, so the POA is no longer an issue. Good.

It was illegal for her to sign your name to the check. It is NOT illegal for her to have all of the money. As was already suggested by Zignor just ask that she be responsible for giving you your half of the tax refund in the divorce.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Op claims the poa was fraudulent so there is no need to send the claimed agent a revocation. In fact it would be a bad thing as it suggests the op did in fact issue the poa. That could cause issues if the op wants to claim the agent acted illegally under a false poa. You wouldn’t send notice to a person that stole your car but claimed you loaned it to them a notice you were revoking your permission to use your car, would you? That would suggest you did in fact originally grant them permission to use your car.


I would contact the banks involved to provide them notice claimed agent is using a fraudulent poa.
The POA is a moot point, but my reason for telling him that was to stop her from being able to take anything else from him in the meantime. He could have said in the revocation letter than it was a fraudulent POA.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
The POA is a moot point, but my reason for telling him that was to stop her from being able to take anything else from him in the meantime. He could have said in the revocation letter than it was a fraudulent POA.
That is not a revocation letter...and words matter in this case. What you are trying to advise the OP to do is not to "revoke" the PoA, rather, you want the OP to advise the bank that the PoA is not valid. The word "revoke" should never be used. It might not seem like a big difference, but it is. In the first case (a "revocation"), the OP would be acknowledging that a PoA exists that he wishes to revoke. In the second case, the OP never even acknowledges the existence of a valid PoA.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
The POA is a moot point, but my reason for telling him that was to stop her from being able to take anything else from him in the meantime. He could have said in the revocation letter than it was a fraudulent POA.
Don’t take this as disagreeing with you as it isn’t. I agree with the statement. Just a bit of clarification.


So it wouldn’t be a revocation of the poa but a notice of being aware of the fraudulent poa and that there has been no valid poa granted by the op to the stbx.

I’m simply trying to avoid the op from stating anything that could be construed as a statement that there was any (valid) poa, ever.
 

limpyL

Member
Thank you all..

Im not worried about the money.. Im concerned with the forgery. With this being the second time I know of what if there are other times I dont know about. She never told me about the one through the bank, I found that out when I logged in and saw an urgent message.

As for the income tax check, I had to call IRS and spoke with them. They couldn't tell me if it was cashed but the tone and way they were speaking and the lack of response from spouse leads me to feel confident that she cashed it.

IS this a topic I should be addressing to my divorce lawyer or find a new lawyer that handles topics like this?

**Several Other non related topics also point in the direction that she would do this.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Thank you all..

Im not worried about the money.. Im concerned with the forgery. With this being the second time I know of what if there are other times I dont know about. She never told me about the one through the bank, I found that out when I logged in and saw an urgent message.

As for the income tax check, I had to call IRS and spoke with them. They couldn't tell me if it was cashed but the tone and way they were speaking and the lack of response from spouse leads me to feel confident that she cashed it.

IS this a topic I should be addressing to my divorce lawyer or find a new lawyer that handles topics like this?

**Several Other non related topics also point in the direction that she would do this.
So you have absolutely no clue if she "signed" your name then...

As you've been told several times, address the money in your divorce action - nothing is going to happen with the rest of it.

ETA: How do you know she did a "mobile deposit"? How do you even know a check was issued, as opposed to a direct deposit?
 

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