Identity thief. Can victim go after criminal in a civil lawsuit?

[TheLegalQuestion]

What is the name of your state? FL

Hello.

One of my family member's identify was stolen somehow and the criminal used his name, address, social security number, etc.. to get expensive exotic cars.
The police arrested the person who did it but for some reason they let them out of jail the same day. I guess they have their hands full with the looters or something.

Anyway, if the police or district attorney refuse to take action against this criminal, can I sue them in court for any real money?

The question is what type of damages can you get when someone uses your identity but is arrested?

What theory of law(if any) could I go after them for?

Emotional distress? Copyright infringement( of me)? The price of lifelock subscription service?

On a somewhat related story, I know there was a district attorney in a Texas town who said that he refused to go after any shoplifters as long as the value was like under $1,000. This lawyer on youtube said something like " Before you think about moving to this town and shoplifting, know this: the store can still go after you in civil court even if D.A don't go after you in criminal court"

I guess my question would be how can you go after someone for a fail shoplifting attempt? What are the damages or theory of law for compensation?

I think a jury would be sympathetic to a victim of identify thief would it seem like almost everyone these days has known someone who might have falling victim to one of these scams.

Every day my phone rings with Indian call centers trying to pretend to be someone they are not in order to steal my identify or blackmail me into giving them gift cards from Walmart. However in this particular case, a police report was made with the person's real name and address so I am thinking perhaps revenge in the form of a civil lawsuit. Please let me know what you guys think?

Thanks.

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state? FL

Hello.

One of my family member's identify was stolen somehow and the criminal used his name, address, social security number, etc.. to get expensive exotic cars.
The police arrested the person who did it but for some reason they let them out of jail the same day. I guess they have their hands full with the looters or something.

Anyway, if the police or district attorney refuse to take action against this criminal, can I sue them in court for any real money?

The question is what type of damages can you get when someone uses your identity but is arrested?

What theory of law(if any) could I go after them for?

Emotional distress? Copyright infringement( of me)? The price of lifelock subscription service?

On a somewhat related story, I know there was a district attorney in a Texas town who said that he refused to go after any shoplifters as long as the value was like under $1,000. This lawyer on youtube said something like " Before you think about moving to this town and shoplifting, know this: the store can still go after you in civil court even if D.A don't go after you in criminal court"

I guess my question would be how can you go after someone for a fail shoplifting attempt? What are the damages or theory of law for compensation?

I think a jury would be sympathetic to a victim of identify thief would it seem like almost everyone these days has known someone who might have falling victim to one of these scams.

Every day my phone rings with Indian call centers trying to pretend to be someone they are not in order to steal my identify or blackmail me into giving them gift cards from Walmart. However in this particular case, a police report was made with the person's real name and address so I am thinking perhaps revenge in the form of a civil lawsuit. Please let me know what you guys think?

Thanks.

Why do you think that you can "go after" the thief? You are not a legal party and have no standing to sue.
Please have the actual legal party (victim) join if s/he wishes to ask for advice. Thank You.

 

[Taxing Matters]

What is the name of your state? FL
Anyway, if the police or district attorney refuse to take action against this criminal, can I sue them in court for any real money?

You can't successfully sue the identity thief because it was not your identity that was stolen. The relative whose identity was taken would be the one who must sue.

The question is what type of damages can you get when someone uses your identity but is arrested?

The arrest doesn't count for anything. Your relative may sue the thief for compensation for the actual harm suffered as a result of the theft. If your relative suffered some kind of financial loss out of it, he or she may sue for the amount of that loss. Your relative bears the burden to prove not only the financial losses but also that the guy indeed was the one who stole his identity. If the guy is convicted of the crime, though, that will solve the issue of the burden to prove he committed the offense, making the lawsuit easier. Whether any emotional distress damages might be available will depend on the applicable state law.

And of course the defendant has to have the assets to pay the judgment should your relative win for the judgment to do him/her any good. If the thief has no nonexempt assets or income then the relative won't get anything. Note that it may end up that the thief will spend much of what he does have on legal fees to try to keep himself out of prison or at least to get as short a sentence as possible.

What theory of law(if any) could I go after them for?/QUOTE]
Again, it is your relative that would have to sue; you can't go after the thief for anything. The identity theft is a crime and thus civilly an intentional tort. There is no copyright infringement here. A person's identity is not protected by copyright.

Every day my phone rings with Indian call centers trying to pretend to be someone they are not in order to steal my identify or blackmail me into giving them gift cards from Walmart.

Who are you giving your phone number to that you have this kind of problem? You may want to get a new number. If you do I suggest that you ensure your number is not listed and that you do not share it with persons or companies you do not know well that may give or sell it to anyone, including scammers, who might want it.

However in this particular case, a police report was made with the person's real name and address so I am thinking perhaps revenge in the form of a civil lawsuit. Please let me know what you guys think?

In my experience filing a lawsuit simply for the purpose of revenge rarely gives the satisfaction the plaintiff seeks. Your relative should stay on the DA to help ensure as much as possible that the thief's prosecution goes forward and that the guy ends up seeing some jail or prison time. That would be more likely to satisfy any desire for revenge.

If your relative wants to sue, he or she should consult a personal injury attorney.

 

[TheLegalQuestion]

Why do you think that you can "go after" the thief? You are not a legal party and have no standing to sue.
Please have the actual legal party (victim) join if s/he wishes to ask for advice. Thank You.

My family member is the victim and he has asked me to find out if its possible to sue. He is not computer savy and does not know about forums or computers. He was prayed on and had his identity stolen. Why do you have a blame the victim, protect the criminal mindset?

How would you feel if I stole your social security number and purchased some expensive range rover while taking out a loan in your name? Then got debt collections to harass you 24/7 and destroy your credit rating?

 

[TheLegalQuestion]

You can't successfully sue the identity thief because it was not your identity that was stolen. The relative whose identity was taken would be the one who must sue.


The arrest doesn't count for anything. Your relative may sue the thief for compensation for the actual harm suffered as a result of the theft. If your relative suffered some kind of financial loss out of it, he or she may sue for the amount of that loss. Your relative bears the burden to prove not only the financial losses but also that the guy indeed was the one who stole his identity. If the guy is convicted of the crime, though, that will solve the issue of the burden to prove he committed the offense, making the lawsuit easier. Whether any emotional distress damages might be available will depend on the applicable state law.

And of course the defendant has to have the assets to pay the judgment should your relative win for the judgment to do him/her any good. If the thief has no nonexempt assets or income then the relative won't get anything. Note that it may end up that the thief will spend much of what he does have on legal fees to try to keep himself out of prison or at least to get as short a sentence as possible.


Who are you giving your phone number to that you have this kind of problem? You may want to get a new number. If you do I suggest that you ensure your number is not listed and that you do not share it with persons or companies you do not know well that may give or sell it to anyone, including scammers, who might want it.


In my experience filing a lawsuit simply for the purpose of revenge rarely gives the satisfaction the plaintiff seeks. Your relative should stay on the DA to help ensure as much as possible that the thief's prosecution goes forward and that the guy ends up seeing some jail or prison time. That would be more likely to satisfy any desire for revenge.

If your relative wants to sue, he or she should consult a personal injury attorney.

I am asking on their behalf on the theory of law to go after the criminals. I know OJ simpsons was found innocent in criminal court but guilty in Civil court.

I am hoping we file a lawsuit, that we get a default judgement and at some point this person does get arrested and is forced to get a normal job in which we can garish their wages.

I find it amazing that someone who seals someone's else Identity, takes out a loan in someone's else social security number for something around $100,000 will get released from jail in a few hours. I am sure many people have gone to jail for much longer for far far less.

Personally, I think its bad timing with the Coronavirus and riots/looting in the streets. Cops may not have the resources or the will to go after these types of crimes.

Thank you for the tip on the personal injury attorney.

I don't even think this person lives in state and will most likely not even show up to court.

 

[TheLegalQuestion]

You can't successfully sue the identity thief because it was not your identity that was stolen. The relative whose identity was taken would be the one who must sue.


The arrest doesn't count for anything. Your relative may sue the thief for compensation for the actual harm suffered as a result of the theft. If your relative suffered some kind of financial loss out of it, he or she may sue for the amount of that loss. Your relative bears the burden to prove not only the financial losses but also that the guy indeed was the one who stole his identity. If the guy is convicted of the crime, though, that will solve the issue of the burden to prove he committed the offense, making the lawsuit easier. Whether any emotional distress damages might be available will depend on the applicable state law.

And of course the defendant has to have the assets to pay the judgment should your relative win for the judgment to do him/her any good. If the thief has no nonexempt assets or income then the relative won't get anything. Note that it may end up that the thief will spend much of what he does have on legal fees to try to keep himself out of prison or at least to get as short a sentence as possible.


Who are you giving your phone number to that you have this kind of problem? You may want to get a new number. If you do I suggest that you ensure your number is not listed and that you do not share it with persons or companies you do not know well that may give or sell it to anyone, including scammers, who might want it.


In my experience filing a lawsuit simply for the purpose of revenge rarely gives the satisfaction the plaintiff seeks. Your relative should stay on the DA to help ensure as much as possible that the thief's prosecution goes forward and that the guy ends up seeing some jail or prison time. That would be more likely to satisfy any desire for revenge.

If your relative wants to sue, he or she should consult a personal injury attorney.

Punitive Damages ????


The Fraud is absolutely there.

What these people did was closer to a criminal conspiracy enterprise. It was not someone shoplifting a candy bar.

In order to steal someone's social security number, you would have had to hack their computer, steal their mail or engaged in some kind of black market dark web activities. These are sophisticated career criminals here with very high ticket items.

 

[Taxing Matters]

I am asking on their behalf on the theory of law to go after the criminals. I know OJ simpsons was found innocent in criminal court but guilty in Civil court.

OJ was not found "guilty". Civil cases do not determine guilt. They instead determine the obligations one party owes another. Most often in the form of money damages. Thus, OJ was determined to owe a certain sum of money to the families of the victims.

I am hoping we file a lawsuit, that we get a default judgement and at some point this person does get arrested and is forced to get a normal job in which we can garish their wages.

He cannot be forced to work. If he does work and has wages sufficiently above poverty level that a wage garnishment would get some of it, then your relative would get at least some payment toward the judgment. Note that he could just move to one of the four states that do not allow wage garnishment at all in which case he'd not be subject to garnishment no matter how much he makes.

I find it amazing that someone who seals someone's else Identity, takes out a loan in someone's else social security number for something around $100,000 will get released from jail in a few hours.

He's innocent until proven guilty and the Constitution guarantees him a right to bail. So either the court let him out on his own recognizence or, more likely, set some bail amount and he paid the bail. That's not unusual. Even people accused of worse have made bail. They just need to have the resources to do it.

The Fraud is absolutely there.

The fraud was perpetrated against the lenders and others that he bilked out of money. Fraud is a knowingly making a false statement of fact to another to induce the other person to act to his/her detriment, like falsely representing who you are to a lender to get a loan that you have no intention to repay.

Your relative's personal information was misused, but that is not fraud against your relative. Still, it is a wrong for which your relative may seek to recover compensation for the damages suffered. Whether punitive damages might be available is again determined by the applicable state law.

 

[TheLegalQuestion]

OJ was not found "guilty". Civil cases do not determine guilt. They instead determine the obligations one party owes another. Most often in the form of money damages. Thus, OJ was determined to owe a certain sum of money to the families of the victims.



He cannot be forced to work. If he does work and has wages sufficiently above poverty level that a wage garnishment would get some of it, then your relative would get at least some payment toward the judgment. Note that he could just move to one of the four states that do not allow wage garnishment at all in which case he'd not be subject to garnishment no matter how much he makes.


He's innocent until proven guilty and the Constitution guarantees him a right to bail. So either the court let him out on his own recognizence or, more likely, set some bail amount and he paid the bail. That's not unusual. Even people accused of worse have made bail. They just need to have the resources to do it.


The fraud was perpetrated against the lenders and others that he bilked out of money. Fraud is a knowingly making a false statement of fact to another to induce the other person to act to his/her detriment, like falsely representing who you are to a lender to get a loan that you have no intention to repay.

Your relative's personal information was misused, but that is not fraud against your relative. Still, it is a wrong for which your relative may seek to recover compensation for the damages suffered. Whether punitive damages might be available is again determined by the applicable state law.

OJ was found to be responsible for the death of the victims. Consequence, owed a ton of money to the family of the victims. However he is not guilty for criminal/jail, only money. Most believe he was found not guilty cause of a racial component with the Jury and a dislike of the police. History is repeating itself today with the looters and destruction of property not being prosecuted. OJ even released a book with the original title saying " I did it" and it was changed to " If I did it"
In any event, my point is that he beat the criminal charges but only justice was served in civil court .

Apparently in today's environment , many district attorneys are refusing to prosecute criminal cases regardless of how much evidence. Many business owners are having their store burn down and looted only to have the criminals released in a hour to rejoin the looting. It seem like civil litigation may be the only option the victim to hold the criminals accountable and to get justice for their loss.

Identify theft is not fraud against the person who identity has been stolen and is left dealing with the fallout of debt collectors, lawsuits, and destroyed credit rating? Someone did a " change of address" with the post office and had his mail forwarded to an unknown address a few months before this happen. USPS will not tell us where the our own mail was being forwarded. This may have been how they got my relative's information to begin with. I am pretty sure stealing someone's mail is fraud and probably violates Federal law.

To understand what happen,

This identity theft to buy tons of cars is a known racket not a one off. There are network of criminals do who this.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Identify theft is not fraud against the person who identity has been stolen and is left dealing with the fallout of debt collectors, lawsuits, and destroyed credit rating?

No, it's not a fraud against the person whose identity was taken. Remember, fraud involves making a false statement to the victim in order to obtain something of value from the victim or cause the victim to act to his/her detriment. The essence of the crime is providing that false statement to the victim which the victim then relies upon. The person committing identity theft often has no contact at all with the person whose identity is taken, so there isn't any point in which the thief is providing false information to that person. The fraud comes later when the thief provides false identity to the lender or other person to convince them to give the thief something of value.

But don't get too hung up focusing on fraud. Identity theft is a crime and to the extent the person whose identity is stolen suffers harm from it he or she has claim to pursue the thief in a civil action to seek compensation for the harm. The fact that it may not be a fraud against the victim doesn't mean that the victim doesn't have a claim to pursue.

The main problem with most of these sorts of lawsuits — apart from identifying the thief — is finding enough assets of the thief to collect any significant amount on the judgment. Attorneys are not going to take a case on a contingent fee unless the award will be large enough that the lawyer's portion will be big enough to justify the time the lawyer spends on it and that award has a good chance of getting paid. If the lawyer can't see where the money will come from he or she won't do it on a contingent fee. If you have pay the lawyer by the hour for it that can get pretty expensive and if you don't recover much from the thief you end up out that money, too.

 

[quincy]

OJ was found to be responsible for the death of the victims. Consequence, owed a ton of money to the family of the victims. However he is not guilty for criminal/jail, only money. Most believe he was found not guilty cause of a racial component with the Jury and a dislike of the police. History is repeating itself today with the looters and destruction of property not being prosecuted. OJ even released a book with the original title saying " I did it" and it was changed to " If I did it"
In any event, my point is that he beat the criminal charges but only justice was served in civil court .

Apparently in today's environment , many district attorneys are refusing to prosecute criminal cases regardless of how much evidence. Many business owners are having their store burn down and looted only to have the criminals released in a hour to rejoin the looting. It seem like civil litigation may be the only option the victim to hold the criminals accountable and to get justice for their loss.

Identify theft is not fraud against the person who identity has been stolen and is left dealing with the fallout of debt collectors, lawsuits, and destroyed credit rating? Someone did a " change of address" with the post office and had his mail forwarded to an unknown address a few months before this happen. USPS will not tell us where the our own mail was being forwarded. This may have been how they got my relative's information to begin with. I am pretty sure stealing someone's mail is fraud and probably violates Federal law.

To understand what happen,

This identity theft to buy tons of cars is a known racket not a one off. There are network of criminals do who this.

Thanks for the info.

Did you view the video you posted? It explains what a victim of identity theft can do.

Perhaps you can share the video with your family member.

You can also share the information from the following links published by the government on identity theft:

https://www.identitytheft.gov/

https://www.usa.gov/identity-theft

https://www.ojp.gov/programs/identitytheft

 

[bcr229]

Who are you giving your phone number to that you have this kind of problem? You may want to get a new number.

This doesn't stop the IRS/FBI/car warranty/etc. overseas scammers because they're in call centers. Their autodialers have an area code & exchange, and run every phone number from 0000 thru 9999. Eventually you'll get called even if you change your number.

I don't answer calls from numbers not in my contact list, and my voice mail message starts with the special informational tones that indicate a disconnected number. When the autodialers hear it they're programmed to dump the call and mark my number as bad. It took a few weeks but now I get very few scam calls, maybe 2-3 a year.

 

[quincy]

It is also possible to place credit freezes with the credit reporting agency so that any credit applied for requires notification to you and consent from you to continue with the credit application.

You can have your credit accounts and banks notify you of any unusual activity on your accounts, too.

There are several ways to protect against identity theft - but often the victims of identity theft are older individuals who freely give their personal information to callers.

 

[zddoodah]

can I sue them in court for any real money?

Anyone can sue anyone for anything. If your intent was to ask whether your family member would have a viable claim, that would depend on what damages, if any, your family member suffered (also, the viability of your family member suing the criminal is not conditioned on the state taking or not taking criminal action).

The question is what type of damages can you get when someone uses your identity

Typically, monetary damages (compensatory and punitive) would be the only type available.

What theory of law(if any) could I go after them for?

Depends on exactly what happened.

Emotional distress?

No.

Copyright infringement( of me)?

Huh?

The price of lifelock subscription service?

Probably.

I guess my question would be how can you go after someone for a fail shoplifting attempt? What are the damages or theory of law for compensation?

As far as I know, every state has a law that allows the victim of an attempted shoplifting to sue the criminal for statutory damages in lieu of actual damages (i.e., a "civil penalty").

My family member is the victim and he has asked me to find out if its possible to sue. He is not computer savy and does not know about forums or computers.

It would have been better (i.e., less confusing) to point that out rather than starting your post by saying that the family member was the victim and then asking all of your questions in the first person.

I know OJ simpsons was found innocent in criminal court

No, he wasn't. He was found not guilty, which is very different from being "found innocent." A finding of not guilty simply means that the prosecutor did not meet the very high burden of proving the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Findings of "innocence" are rare and typically only happen after review of a conviction resulting from a guilty verdict.

but guilty in Civil court.

He was found liable, not "guilty." There's no such thing as "guilt" in civil court.

I am hoping we file a lawsuit, that we get a default judgement and at some point this person does get arrested and is forced to get a normal job in which we can garish their wages.

There is no means by which a person can be "forced to get a . . . job" ("normal" or otherwise).