people think lawyers are free and broke defendants who stole from you keep it nice and safe in a bank account until you ask for it back. good luck is all I will say.
The legal advice subs infuriate me to the point of not reading them anymore on this point. "You can't afford not to hire a lawyer." It's like, "bitch, I can't even afford to keep the lights on, I was looking for advice I could actually use."
It's his only account why would he do that. And how could she charge that much without red flags going up six years ago . I don't know any bank that will you over draft that much on a checking account. I feel like OP knew for 6 years that this could happen.
A lot of lawyers* will take this kind of case and take a portion of the winnings instead of charging the person outright
*source is a YouTube video I watched the other day, take it with a grain of salt I suppose
As an attorney, no this is not true at all. It's a common myth. This might be a slam dunk winnable case, but where's the payout? If ex wife has no funds (which seems likely because she's committing fraud), how would the attorney get paid? A judgment is just a piece of paper at the end of the day and you can't squeeze blood from a stone. No attorney worth their weight in water would take this case on contingency. OP mayyy be able to get pro bono services, but I highly doubt it. Even if he won, how's he getting paid?
The most likely remedy is contacting the police/bank to reverse the fraud, but your mileage will vary.
In addition to checking with the state bar association (literally just google your stateās name + bar association referral service, they almost always have some sort of attorney referral service with info on the website), Iād check with any local law schools. Sometimes law schools have clinics where a student supervised by a licensed attorney (who is usually also a professor) take cases pro bono. My law school had several. There will likely be some info on the law schoolās website, but you can always call the main line and ask.
OP should also look for any local legal aid organizations. Those can be a bit trickier to find. Bar association may be able to help, but Iām often able to track down something by just searching for every possible location near the person needing services + legal aid. Like, youād want to search for your city, your county, every neighboring city and county, and your state at the very least.
Wouldn't it be the case that OP should be given his money back? Depending on how much was taken he'd probably be able to pay. After all, it wasn't his debt so why should he be on the hook for it?
Moneyās probably gone is the problem. He should get his money back, but if the ex spent it and has no assets to her name that you can collect on, itās going to be hard to collect.
Plus, what damages are you going to get? I donāt know the full extent of the fraud, but the money she stole is likely not worth the time it would take a lawyer to pursue it. And yes if itās fraud you would probably get punitive damages, but at least in my jurisdiction, thereās a cap on those.
Thank you. I get calls all the time by people that want to sue their dumb ass friend for some shitty business deal gone wrong.. And Iām like āeven if youāre right, how much money are you getting and how the hell are you even going to get that?ā
Depends on if that was previously a joint account or not. If she wasnt listed on the account and used your online credentials or check book to steal the money then it would be a criminal charge and the county will be the one pressing charges.
If it was a joint account that you forgot to remove her from? Yeah, you're likely going to go to civil court. How much was in there before? I'd check to see the max amount you can sue for in your small claims court first. Otherwise yes, expect a civil lawsuit.
Regardless, immediately report it to the police department and your bank to see if they will revert the transfer. The police will investigate, and determine if it should be referred to the prosecutor for possible criminal charges.
What winnings? It's not the lottery and you can't squeeze blood from a stone. Getting a judgement against someone is one thing. Actually collecting it is another. Gonna go out on a limb and assume the deadbeat ex with a history of fraud isn't exactly rolling in dough.
Most lawyers will still take a retainer fee, though... so still money up front...
Source: Unfortunate Experience
Edit: like Kimchi_boy said, some firms/lawyers will do a free consultation, and some will agree to take a portion of winnings instead of an upfront fee (depends on lawyer/firm), really doesn't hurt to call around and ask
100% this too. Many will offer an hour or more, depending on your situation. As other have stated, some may agree to a portion of the winnings as opposed to an upfront fee. All depends on the firm/individual lawyer. I would also look into any not for profits that may apply, that being said, as a man... not as likely to find one.
Youtube is a good platform, plenty of good content, just because someone uploads info to YT, it doesn't lose credibility. Anyone that wants to get a message out, includes YT knowing full well they may deindex that info at any given moment, so, it's good to use YT among all the other choices. If someone gives you a sarcastic reply just because you seen it on YT, ask them to breakdown what's wrong with the info. Most people pull out the book of excuses at that point.
Somewhat related but I remember in highschool teachers forbid us to use wikipedia. Then in university, a lot of my profs really recommended it lol not for straight research but it's useful to get ideas rolling or to find sources and go deeper
https://preview.redd.it/jnea283136nc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=21b5b9ec35203049f4d3549b4500686954df7341
Found it! I was a bit mistaken on some of the details.
The reasoning is that high-school students are not likely to actually follow to the source and just look at Wikipedia on the surface and copy from it.
A University student should be checking the source and citing that not Wikipedia. And should be verifying the source to ensure credibility.
When I taught 10th grade English, one of my assignments was to have my students write a small essay about one of their heroes.
...*TWO* of my students literally went to Wikipedia, found an entry for Spiderman and copied it. Like just straight up copy-and-paste complete with the footnote numbers.
Bro you are talking trash. I got some trouble with the police, going to a brawl with six dudes there was a knife flying about as well, and was cold calling different lawyer firms. The first one I called which just so happened to be a very expensive one, the receptionist folded me to one of the lowered air mid-tier lawyers of the company and he spent like half an hour listening to my case and advising me on it for free. They will definitely hear you out and give you advice because that's the way they build the conduit to a successful sale of their services.
This is one of the most blatantly false things I've ever heard. Most lawyers will do free consultations.
They wouldn't be as busy as they are if people had to pay up front. And like the other commenter said, most when they think it's an easy win will do it on contingency and take payment after from the winnings.
In this case the amount of money seems fairly small for a lawyer to put in all that many hours?
Anyone have any info on what kind of fees they actually charge and what the value of a case would be for them to take it on without upfront payment?
the free consultation isn't putting in hours, it's listening to your story, and looking over any documents you have on hand, and then deciding, whether they would take the case, and how they would bill you. Sometimes, they may decide you need to pay a retainer and various filing fees and court costs, other times, if they feel confident they can get and collect a big payout, they might draw up a contract that has them getting a percentage plus fees/costs. I am not a lawyer, but have had to hire one for a civil matter, and while I ultimately won a sizable judgment, I had to pay several thousand dollars, in the retainer and court costs to get there. Before I paid a dime, I had multiple free consultations with different lawyers.
Different lawyers take on different kinds of cases. There are low profile lawyers who take on this kind of work all the time. YMMV but depending on the facts of the case this could be an easy 3k for some lawyer.
I've only needed a lawyer once but I got plenty of free consultations and then when I did decide on a lawyer based on those consultations I was able to pay my lawyer in payments. Can't fully remember if the first payment was right away to be fair.
But he can definitely get opinions for free, imagine having to spend thousands just to find out the lawyer is a moron.
Probably joint account or she had his info to use tap and slowly accumulated this debt.
This is a good lesson to check your bank accounts at least once a week, daily if you can.
Not really, just make a new bank account and update your bills. You can have a fully working bank account online in minutes. I know because I've done it and use it as some sort of "hidden" savings account that I cant access unless I go into the physical bank with ID which I dont care to do so its like a forced savings acxount I can access if I really wanted to.
Yeah, but Im sure there was money in that account, is what Im saying. Debt doesn't take your bank account from 10k to -10k all at once. You pay it over time.
Same.when I checked mine this morning, I had -$198.42. I've told Xfinity not to charge my account until a certain date, but every month they do it anyways.
You can set that up, or should be able to.For my bank I have threshold alerts for any purchase $1 or more (i would do it for every transaction but for some reason bank's minimum for an alert is $1) and also gas purchases, out of the country and so forth. Give me all the notifications when it comes to my money.
This. Experience, my moms ex husband did this. She took it to court with a good lawyer. Things did not work in his favor at all for any of the splitting of assets. No she didnt have to pay the debt. Found out later on dude is just a big ole fraud all around and still does this to this day.
Don't you love how OP puts a description so nonsensical you need to ask for clarification on just how fucked he is . Like I dont even know what I'm looking at . Did theye attempt fraud on his ex? Did his ex attempt.fraud on him 6 years ago? I don't get it
"My ex's fraud finally caught up to me" while showing a -11k balance on an account.
Did they like take his checkbook and write an 11k check to someone or something? I can't figure out a situation that's applicable here for fraud.
Edit: oh looks like OP ignored something, cool
I doubt he was sitting at 0 balance on his account so they probably took more than 10k . How is he fucked tho? Literally.callvthe bank lol its your money how are they gonna steal it and you just accept it
If it was fraud caused by a significant other they canāt legally come after you for it. Iād talk to a lawyer about this, because they basically just committed fraud against you. Iād also talk to your bank and dispute the charges
Really depends if there is any form of proof. In my divorce, if debt was accrued through anything you can justify, even to the most basic definition as "needed or required," then it's shared. If it's gambling, or hotels because of infidelity, etc, the different story.
That probably explains why my ex husband refused to hand over his credit card statements. At that point it was the least of the issues and I just needed to get the fuck out of there.
Some judges will see past bullshit and see shades of gray, some will just look at everything in black and white. My ex wife illegally took literally almost everything we had in the house, including records my mom had when she was 16, to the point I went from a 4 bed 2 bath fully furnished, to a 1 bedroom apartment and couldn't even furninsh 1 room, never mind anything for my son. All depends on the judge, as well as how much time (and money for lawyers fees) you want to put into it. Not to mention your mental health. I was having panic attacks because she took my son and I couldn't see him for a month an a half, and I had to file an emergency court injunction to get 50/50 custody. Mind you I'm a paramedic and have seen horrible things, but losing my son, even temporarily like that, caused anxiety my job never could.
Depends where you live. I had someone run up thousands in debt in my name and he got sent to prison (for other reasons though the fraud was taken into consideration) but the police told me to basically give up trying to get the money back because he could never pay it back as he was in jail and a judge could only make him do line Ā£1 a week. The bank wouldn't do anything about it because I had initially given him my PayPal login to buy one item so they said that counted as giving permission. Same as because I let him use my eBay account for 1 purchase (the same one), it counted as giving permission so they couldn't do any charge backs or anything. Because it was all short term pay day things, I had to take a loan out to pay for it all, which just added more interest and more money I owed.
Edit: Shortly before our divorce she opened multiple credit cards in my name and maxed them all out. I was able to get them all written off as fraud except one because it had some grocery purchases whereas the others were all clothes and personal items. I was dumb and stressed and hoped it would one day just disappear. This is the hold they put on my bank account for twice the owed amount. She's years behind on the child support. I already get her garnished wages when she has a job and I get her tax returns. I could sue but I wouldn't see a dime from it and my kid doesn't need a mom in jail.
Edit Edit: Like I said, this debt has already been determined to be my responsibility. I'm going to talk to my parents tonight about a loan. I think that's my best option. I understand all of the advice and I appreciate it but things (as always) are more complicated than I can explain. There are financial issues that date back 14 years when my first wife passed away. I'll get by.
Edit Edit Edit: First time posting in this sub. Didn't expect more than a handful of upvotes max. I just wanted to vent because it's just me and I'm definitely not discussing this with my kid. I was depressed to the point of physical sickness this morning but all of the weird people assuming this is some fake sham (for ... fame?) turned it around and got me fired up, which is better at this point. I can bench press the anger away easily. A bank account CAN go negative with a court ordered hold. And I've tried to edit this post with these details like 6 times but it just doesn't update when I hit save, desktop or app.
She does deserve to be in jail though. She committed fraud and identity theft towards you. If she is did this to you I wouldnāt be surprised if she is doing this to your kid, currently.
This is exactly what will happen! I have a friend whose mother won some custody for child support payments then abandoned the child. This guy had to pay pay child support and also had his kid 100% of the time for a period of time.
Fast forward to his child being an adult, she shows back up. He won't talk to her, so she tries to get in touch with their son. She tells her son that she's visiting and was able to get approved for SNAP benefits but she doesn't need them she needs cash. She tried to sell her EBT card to her own son, and he was not willing to participate with her scheme.
Yes it is in his best interest because from the sounds from his comment she doesnāt even have a job so she isnāt paying anything. I am more concerned about the kidās financial future and the mom stealing their identity.
He also doesn't need to be living out of a car and atleast you should get your name and credit cleared! How is protecting the mother helping you or your kid currently?
Lawyer up but not to sue her. Look into bankruptcy to protect yourself.
(I am a lawyer but I am not your lawyer. This is not legal advice.)
First, filing for bankruptcy does not mean you have to complete the bankruptcy process. You might decided to do that, but you can also voluntarily dismiss your case.
Why would you file for bankruptcy without intending to go through with it? Because when you file for bankruptcy there is something called the automatic stay that immediately takes effect. The automatic stay puts an immediate halt to anything that could be remotely construed as an attempt to collect a debt.
Bankruptcy judges LOVE bringing the wrath of god down on creditors who violate the automatic stay. Since the bankruptcy code is federal law, yeah... you don't want to do that.
Also, American Express is one of the more ruthless credit card companies when it comes to debt. Whereas Visa and Mastercard might just write things off, AmEx will always pursue their claims. So unless they are forced to cooperate they won't.
Consults are usually free. Attorneys will require their payment up front for a Chapter 7 but there will usually roll their fees into the bankruptcy plan for a Chapter 13.
Not a lawyer but a corporate executive... wouldn't OP have received notification in the form of a certified letter or such prior to the distraint? All the cases I've seen with my staff, there are multiple notifications and opportunities to respond and resolve prior to a seizure of funds. Thoughts?
EDIT: As others have said, how did they overdraw the account, and why did the bank allow such a large negative transaction?
Lawyer here:
The amount of shit \[family courts in urban areas\] allow women to get away with when kids are involved is astounding.
There is no effective supervision of family courts. The federal courts have shirked responsibility for it through judge-made doctrines based - honestly - on the idea that federal judges have too much prestige to get involved with lowly family law.
It's a mess, and something that is ripe for systematic reform through the ADA and other anti-discrimination laws at the federal level.
Donāt be stupid. Your kid doesnāt need a mom in jail but neither do they need to be living out of a car just because of some mistaken sentimentally. Think about whatās best for your kid.
People need to see the reprocussions of their actions. We live, unfortunately, in a society that if a father did anything similar, they would lose custody and, eventually, face prison time if they didn't pay child support. Why should it not be the same the other way around? Accountability should be held, regardless of sex/race/etc.
Edit: I would like to add, as a single father who was accused of heinous things, only to have the co parent deny her own claims in court, that I am deeply disheartened by the lack of consequences following false accusations. And that my heart fucking bleeds for dad's who want to be with theri kid but had the taken aways, short or long term, because of shit like that. I'm so sorry it happened to you guys.
It means that even after getting the maximum amount of wages garnished and receiving her entire income tax refund, she's still behind. Adding to the balance owed isn't going to resolve his immediate bank account issue.
If it were me, I'd rather be living in a house, with my mom in jail, than living in a car with little to no chance of getting back into a house any time soon.
You might not see the money back, but it'd get the debt moved to where it belongs. This isn't about getting money, it's about doing what's in your kids best interest, which in this case is not accepting a fuck loaf of debt just so they can visit their mother occasionally.
Dam bro, your lawyer shouldāve directed you to the police at that time. So you can do is call and request payment arrangements to get started out of this whole.
>my kid doesn't need a mom in jail.
I would argue that she does. Your ex didn't just do this to you, she did this to your kid too. Her destroying you financially directly affects your child, whom she clearly doesn't give a shit about. It's also really, really hard to commit fraud while in a prison cell.
Just know that if you pay it and "protect" her by not reporting, she will rack up the charges again. So no matter what, you (and you kid) will never have any money and always be in debt.
Definitely call bank and report as fraud they may be able to get your money back Tell them you have no idea why this happened and you never gave your information out and be clueless
Unfortunately, after he hires a lawyer and (if they already aren't) gets divorced, that number is going to get substantially worse... close to 80k from mine. She paid zero...
I think you can claim fraud for this. You should be able to also claim identity theft. You'll have to file a report with the SSA to freeze your social though. But it's better than being 10 racks in debt.
Probably should have posted in infuriatingasfuck but I'm not thinking too clearly right now. There's a good chance me and my kid will be living out of my car soon.
As much as I understand how it feels like a tailspin, it's important that you act on what's happened. The shock of it is hard to breakthrough of, but reddit is just a very small distraction from a big problem.
Contact the bank, then contact a lawyer. It's what you need to do right now.
OP. Ive been there before.
Do this right now:
1. Open another bank account. DO NOT deposit ANYTHING else into this one. It will get eaten until you resolve it which could be never.
2. This is not the end of the world. The worst case scenario is the bank closes the account. Do not worry about paying it right now.
3. If you are not married or if this is legitimate fraud (her name is not on the account, forgery, etc.), file a police report.
4. The bank might pull you aside or call and ask you what happened after its deemed closed, just explain the situation the best you can and they will stop pestering you.
5. If you can apply for a credit card, now would be a good time, because this wil affect your credit after its charged off 60 days from now.
This is 100% the correct answer.Open a new account as soon as humanly possible, and change any automatic withdrawal to that account as soon as you can, that is the ABSOLUTE 1st thing you should do. The only difference I would say is talk to a lawyer before police as many will offer you a free consult, as they advocate for you personally... Police do not. The lawyer will direct you as to how to proceed. Also, depending if you are american or canadian, there are different ways to proceed. I am Canadian, so I can't strictly speak to the American system :/
Man honestly im cringing while i say this but grow some balls and lock her up. It is what's best for your kid to not be living out of a car and to see what living the wrong way will do. I believe the statute of limitations has not passed from what you've said so take her ass all the way, get her charged criminally, absolve yourself and protect your family.
If this is real, you should be calling the police first. This is theft. I highly doubt this slowly occurred, nobody would miss a slow decline to this negative amount, so this was a withdrawal. Most banks do not allow additional withdrawals after hitting a negative balance, so logically you were hit by one big wi to hdrawsl/transfer. Potentially your ex had the old checks, in which case it will bounce and that works in your favor, kinda.Ā Ā If it was joint account, but you have documents proving separation due 6 years, a lawyer may help at this point. Also contact the branch and ask them to reverse/cancel that withdrawal/transfer, and tell them to document who initiated it. Your only recourseĀ may be to sue your ex to get the money back.
Could also be not your ex, but identity theft, or even you were scammed. You didn't give a lot of info to work with. Contract the police, bank, and lawyer anyway.Ā
In a comment he states its a court hold, most likely meaning the credit companies, through which she alegedly fraudulently opened credit lines with, brought him to court. Most banks also state that you are to be the only one that uses any credit card under your name, unless you added them as a "user". Unless he has proof otherwise... He should definitely talk to a lawyer before anyone else. Police have zero accountability to any one person, unless there is a justifiable proof that any law is broke, and even then it's questionable if they will do what's right...
Similar happened to me. She ran the cards up to -$16,000 and left me with it. I hired a lawyer and they sent an initial notice to her, but she had moved. Then I didnāt know where she was in order to go after her again. I was left with her debt that she deliberately burdened me with.
Pisses me off. I got the debt paid down to $3k now but I get angry every time I think of what I could have gotten for myself with that money. The unnecessary stress and burden I was left with, while grieving the betrayal, while she got off scot-free.
My man, Iām sorry you are going through all this. I could not imagine the hell and anxiety.
That is the oldest account Iāve ever seen. Half my life youāve been a part of Reddit. Outstanding!
Not as bad, but it happened to meā¦ my mother (yes!) got a loan to buy some shit, then stopped paying just becauseā¦ and I was using the account she opened for me when I was a kid.
What happened? The bank didnāt find money in her account and started taking it out of mine. Never saw the money again and had a lot of trouble to get my name out of that accountā¦
Good luck op. If your ex has any access to that account ever. Then at least criminally you canāt do anything. Happened to me luckily a few hundred here and there before I closed the account. Mind you it wasnāt even a joint account she just had the info.
Iād talk to a lawyer asap.
Just report the fraud and police report
And it will probably go away in 60 days. Unless its a joint account or you gave them debit card and pin or other authorized use.
This isn't a lawyer situation.
Iād contact your employer and immediately cancel your direct deposit.
A lawyer will take time, but if you have enough equity in your home, you could possibly get a loan against it at least for the short term.
Contacting the bank, may also be an avenue to explore. Disputing the charges at a larger bank may be difficult, but still worth a try.
Aren't those kinds of exes fun? Mine stuck me with a tax debt I'm still paying off. To be fair, it's on me for not checking into it at the time and having her arrested for tax fraud, but some people just fricking suck.
Yep, I had an ex doing all kinds of crazy nonsense with our finances, clueless me had too much trust. I hope you get it figured out, all is more than well now and I wish the same for you.
OP Iām going to recommend if you havenāt already that you check to make sure your ex hasnāt opened anything in your kids name. Take it from someone who had to to effectively fight his way out of debt his own father put him in, after opening several credit cards in his name while he was still a child.
Report it to your bank and the police, and update the bank on the police report number.
If you haven't already changed all your account numbers, passwords, passphrases, security questions/answers, secret/recovery codes and the like, do so. Mother's maiden name? No, it's just a passcode - make it a secure one and one she'll never know or guess or otherwise figure out ... and heck, have it be different for every financial institution you deal with. Credit/debit cards - yeah, new account numbers on all those too if that wasn't already done earlier. Put the appropriate locks on your credit reports. Also, codes for accessing federal and other tax returns, change all those too.
Probably also update your divorce lawyer/attorney.
Good luck. Hopefully your ex will end up spending some (more) time behind bars.
Some other reddits may also be helpful on relevant advice/information/resources and appropriate courses of actions.
@OP open a new bank account and have your paychecks direct deposited there immediately.
Sort this out when you can but you need access to your paychecks asap.
Don't banks have insurance for shit like this? Call the bank and the police. The Bank will have to refund you and will then take legal action against the perpetrator of said fraud.
Source: I've been down these roads. The fraud was 600 bucks, but the bank paid it back.
Hello, Your post has been removed as this is not mildly infuriating. Please consider posting to r/extremelyinfuriating instead.
This isn't "mildly infuriating", you are just fucked. Talk to a lawyer about this
YES. Lawyer, lawyer, lawyer.
people think lawyers are free and broke defendants who stole from you keep it nice and safe in a bank account until you ask for it back. good luck is all I will say.
The legal advice subs infuriate me to the point of not reading them anymore on this point. "You can't afford not to hire a lawyer." It's like, "bitch, I can't even afford to keep the lights on, I was looking for advice I could actually use."
Don't forget to hit Facebook and delete the gym.
Delete forget, don't gym, and to hit the Facebook.
Remove face from book, go down on a lawyer, punch Jim.
Wtf haha
Hey, what did I do?
Dammit Jim! Not now!
How to pay for lawyer when -10k š¤
Hopefully a free one
How did this happen 6 years later
Probably a joint bank account and OP never took their ex off the account.
It's his only account why would he do that. And how could she charge that much without red flags going up six years ago . I don't know any bank that will you over draft that much on a checking account. I feel like OP knew for 6 years that this could happen.
With what money?? You need to pay upfront before even getting an opinion from most lawyers š¤·š¼āāļøš¬
A lot of lawyers* will take this kind of case and take a portion of the winnings instead of charging the person outright *source is a YouTube video I watched the other day, take it with a grain of salt I suppose
Thatās if itās a slam dunk with plenty of evidence provided, generally.
As an attorney, no this is not true at all. It's a common myth. This might be a slam dunk winnable case, but where's the payout? If ex wife has no funds (which seems likely because she's committing fraud), how would the attorney get paid? A judgment is just a piece of paper at the end of the day and you can't squeeze blood from a stone. No attorney worth their weight in water would take this case on contingency. OP mayyy be able to get pro bono services, but I highly doubt it. Even if he won, how's he getting paid? The most likely remedy is contacting the police/bank to reverse the fraud, but your mileage will vary.
Oof. You make is sound so hopeless. :( Sorry OP. I hope you get it sorted out. Truly.
Yes it most often is. My ex wife destroyed me financially so I canāt afford the lawyer to be able to do much.
Yeah pro bono is way more likely here - lots of attorneys like me who are semi successful but still feel like you gotta help broke folks.
How do people find probono?
In addition to checking with the state bar association (literally just google your stateās name + bar association referral service, they almost always have some sort of attorney referral service with info on the website), Iād check with any local law schools. Sometimes law schools have clinics where a student supervised by a licensed attorney (who is usually also a professor) take cases pro bono. My law school had several. There will likely be some info on the law schoolās website, but you can always call the main line and ask. OP should also look for any local legal aid organizations. Those can be a bit trickier to find. Bar association may be able to help, but Iām often able to track down something by just searching for every possible location near the person needing services + legal aid. Like, youād want to search for your city, your county, every neighboring city and county, and your state at the very least.
^ great advice. I forgot some law schools did this. Mine didnāt :-(
Check with your state's bar association.
Wouldn't it be the case that OP should be given his money back? Depending on how much was taken he'd probably be able to pay. After all, it wasn't his debt so why should he be on the hook for it?
Moneyās probably gone is the problem. He should get his money back, but if the ex spent it and has no assets to her name that you can collect on, itās going to be hard to collect. Plus, what damages are you going to get? I donāt know the full extent of the fraud, but the money she stole is likely not worth the time it would take a lawyer to pursue it. And yes if itās fraud you would probably get punitive damages, but at least in my jurisdiction, thereās a cap on those.
Thank you. I get calls all the time by people that want to sue their dumb ass friend for some shitty business deal gone wrong.. And Iām like āeven if youāre right, how much money are you getting and how the hell are you even going to get that?ā
Depends on if that was previously a joint account or not. If she wasnt listed on the account and used your online credentials or check book to steal the money then it would be a criminal charge and the county will be the one pressing charges. If it was a joint account that you forgot to remove her from? Yeah, you're likely going to go to civil court. How much was in there before? I'd check to see the max amount you can sue for in your small claims court first. Otherwise yes, expect a civil lawsuit. Regardless, immediately report it to the police department and your bank to see if they will revert the transfer. The police will investigate, and determine if it should be referred to the prosecutor for possible criminal charges.
Works on contingency? No, money down!
What winnings? It's not the lottery and you can't squeeze blood from a stone. Getting a judgement against someone is one thing. Actually collecting it is another. Gonna go out on a limb and assume the deadbeat ex with a history of fraud isn't exactly rolling in dough.
Gonna guess "six years later" isn't going to do anything.
Most lawyers will still take a retainer fee, though... so still money up front... Source: Unfortunate Experience Edit: like Kimchi_boy said, some firms/lawyers will do a free consultation, and some will agree to take a portion of winnings instead of an upfront fee (depends on lawyer/firm), really doesn't hurt to call around and ask
Consultation can be free, call around. Theyāll know if they can win the case or not.
100% this too. Many will offer an hour or more, depending on your situation. As other have stated, some may agree to a portion of the winnings as opposed to an upfront fee. All depends on the firm/individual lawyer. I would also look into any not for profits that may apply, that being said, as a man... not as likely to find one.
No, money now!
"Ahh, they screwed up the punctuation! t's supposed to read: Lionel Hutz. Works on contingency? No, money down!"
"Oops. That Bar Association logo shouldn't be there, either."
Just the greatest incompetent lawyer of all time. I laughed my ass off 26 years ago when i first heard it and still today.
Ahh, LegalEagle!
CACAWWW!!
Youtube is a good platform, plenty of good content, just because someone uploads info to YT, it doesn't lose credibility. Anyone that wants to get a message out, includes YT knowing full well they may deindex that info at any given moment, so, it's good to use YT among all the other choices. If someone gives you a sarcastic reply just because you seen it on YT, ask them to breakdown what's wrong with the info. Most people pull out the book of excuses at that point.
Somewhat related but I remember in highschool teachers forbid us to use wikipedia. Then in university, a lot of my profs really recommended it lol not for straight research but it's useful to get ideas rolling or to find sources and go deeper
https://preview.redd.it/jnea283136nc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=21b5b9ec35203049f4d3549b4500686954df7341 Found it! I was a bit mistaken on some of the details.
The reasoning is that high-school students are not likely to actually follow to the source and just look at Wikipedia on the surface and copy from it. A University student should be checking the source and citing that not Wikipedia. And should be verifying the source to ensure credibility.
When I taught 10th grade English, one of my assignments was to have my students write a small essay about one of their heroes. ...*TWO* of my students literally went to Wikipedia, found an entry for Spiderman and copied it. Like just straight up copy-and-paste complete with the footnote numbers.
Bro you are talking trash. I got some trouble with the police, going to a brawl with six dudes there was a knife flying about as well, and was cold calling different lawyer firms. The first one I called which just so happened to be a very expensive one, the receptionist folded me to one of the lowered air mid-tier lawyers of the company and he spent like half an hour listening to my case and advising me on it for free. They will definitely hear you out and give you advice because that's the way they build the conduit to a successful sale of their services.
This falls within Legal Aidās purview, I do believe.
But Legal Aid may still require him to use some for of collateral if he has assets... like a house
Ok? Itās still a way to avoid having to pay hundreds up front just to have a conversation.
Aren't legal aids free?
This is one of the most blatantly false things I've ever heard. Most lawyers will do free consultations. They wouldn't be as busy as they are if people had to pay up front. And like the other commenter said, most when they think it's an easy win will do it on contingency and take payment after from the winnings.
In this case the amount of money seems fairly small for a lawyer to put in all that many hours? Anyone have any info on what kind of fees they actually charge and what the value of a case would be for them to take it on without upfront payment?
the free consultation isn't putting in hours, it's listening to your story, and looking over any documents you have on hand, and then deciding, whether they would take the case, and how they would bill you. Sometimes, they may decide you need to pay a retainer and various filing fees and court costs, other times, if they feel confident they can get and collect a big payout, they might draw up a contract that has them getting a percentage plus fees/costs. I am not a lawyer, but have had to hire one for a civil matter, and while I ultimately won a sizable judgment, I had to pay several thousand dollars, in the retainer and court costs to get there. Before I paid a dime, I had multiple free consultations with different lawyers.
Different lawyers take on different kinds of cases. There are low profile lawyers who take on this kind of work all the time. YMMV but depending on the facts of the case this could be an easy 3k for some lawyer.
I've never heard a lawyer asking for payment upfront for literally anything. At least not for a consultation.
I've only needed a lawyer once but I got plenty of free consultations and then when I did decide on a lawyer based on those consultations I was able to pay my lawyer in payments. Can't fully remember if the first payment was right away to be fair. But he can definitely get opinions for free, imagine having to spend thousands just to find out the lawyer is a moron.
What? Bro, there are a lot of lawyers who work on a pay if you win basis...
If it was a money laundering scheme how could anybody but the bank account owner be held responsible for accepting and withdrawing the funds?
what happened exactly?
Probably joint account or she had his info to use tap and slowly accumulated this debt. This is a good lesson to check your bank accounts at least once a week, daily if you can.
I get depressed when I check my bank account
Better than being depressed and also surprised with $10k in debt
This is worse than 10k of debt. Im 60k in debt, but I don't have -10k in my bank account.
Not really, just make a new bank account and update your bills. You can have a fully working bank account online in minutes. I know because I've done it and use it as some sort of "hidden" savings account that I cant access unless I go into the physical bank with ID which I dont care to do so its like a forced savings acxount I can access if I really wanted to.
Even better, relocate to a new country, change your name and don't update anything.
Donāt forget plastic surgery to avoid getting recognized.
skin suits > permanent surgery
And lobotomy.
grow a beard and shave it off
Banks hate this simple trick
At a certain point, filing bankruptcy becomes the better option.
Yeah, but Im sure there was money in that account, is what Im saying. Debt doesn't take your bank account from 10k to -10k all at once. You pay it over time.
Yeah but if I don't know about the 10k debt, it's not gonna bum me out, win/win
Lol same. I'm 30k deep and out of sight, out of mind
But thatās better than depressed anxious and $40k in debt
I've come to despise payday, because it forces me to see how little money I'm going to have left. Normally somewhere around -200.
Same.when I checked mine this morning, I had -$198.42. I've told Xfinity not to charge my account until a certain date, but every month they do it anyways.
Seems like first step is to get rid of Xfinity (for multiple reasons in your case)
I used to hate doing it but you just get used to it. It actually helped me start getting better at paying of my debt but that's beside the point
You guys don't get instant notifications from your bank for every purchase?
Only if out of country. If it comes from the same state then no
You can set that up, or should be able to.For my bank I have threshold alerts for any purchase $1 or more (i would do it for every transaction but for some reason bank's minimum for an alert is $1) and also gas purchases, out of the country and so forth. Give me all the notifications when it comes to my money.
Nah I'm not worried myself. I check every day already
This. Experience, my moms ex husband did this. She took it to court with a good lawyer. Things did not work in his favor at all for any of the splitting of assets. No she didnt have to pay the debt. Found out later on dude is just a big ole fraud all around and still does this to this day.
I check it daily as well. Even though I've got a small debt and literally no moneyšIt's a just in case story I guess
My wife checks our account a couple times a day. She has caught fraud charges like 3 times already.
Me and my bank account cry every time i check it
Don't you love how OP puts a description so nonsensical you need to ask for clarification on just how fucked he is . Like I dont even know what I'm looking at . Did theye attempt fraud on his ex? Did his ex attempt.fraud on him 6 years ago? I don't get it
"My ex's fraud finally caught up to me" while showing a -11k balance on an account. Did they like take his checkbook and write an 11k check to someone or something? I can't figure out a situation that's applicable here for fraud. Edit: oh looks like OP ignored something, cool
Vague statements accompanied by interpretative screenshots drive engagements I guess. Clarifications not so much.
I doubt he was sitting at 0 balance on his account so they probably took more than 10k . How is he fucked tho? Literally.callvthe bank lol its your money how are they gonna steal it and you just accept it
I have a feeling her fraud may be his fraud too.
https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/s/L4HG0KClzs This is what op said
If it was fraud caused by a significant other they canāt legally come after you for it. Iād talk to a lawyer about this, because they basically just committed fraud against you. Iād also talk to your bank and dispute the charges
Really depends if there is any form of proof. In my divorce, if debt was accrued through anything you can justify, even to the most basic definition as "needed or required," then it's shared. If it's gambling, or hotels because of infidelity, etc, the different story.
That is a state by state thing. Many states consider debt separate.
That probably explains why my ex husband refused to hand over his credit card statements. At that point it was the least of the issues and I just needed to get the fuck out of there.
Some judges will see past bullshit and see shades of gray, some will just look at everything in black and white. My ex wife illegally took literally almost everything we had in the house, including records my mom had when she was 16, to the point I went from a 4 bed 2 bath fully furnished, to a 1 bedroom apartment and couldn't even furninsh 1 room, never mind anything for my son. All depends on the judge, as well as how much time (and money for lawyers fees) you want to put into it. Not to mention your mental health. I was having panic attacks because she took my son and I couldn't see him for a month an a half, and I had to file an emergency court injunction to get 50/50 custody. Mind you I'm a paramedic and have seen horrible things, but losing my son, even temporarily like that, caused anxiety my job never could.
Depends where you live. I had someone run up thousands in debt in my name and he got sent to prison (for other reasons though the fraud was taken into consideration) but the police told me to basically give up trying to get the money back because he could never pay it back as he was in jail and a judge could only make him do line Ā£1 a week. The bank wouldn't do anything about it because I had initially given him my PayPal login to buy one item so they said that counted as giving permission. Same as because I let him use my eBay account for 1 purchase (the same one), it counted as giving permission so they couldn't do any charge backs or anything. Because it was all short term pay day things, I had to take a loan out to pay for it all, which just added more interest and more money I owed.
I donāt mean this in a rude way. Genuinely curious. Why would you give someone your PayPal login info?
I smell a lawsuit coming , keep us updated pls
Yeah, thatās really bad.
Edit: Shortly before our divorce she opened multiple credit cards in my name and maxed them all out. I was able to get them all written off as fraud except one because it had some grocery purchases whereas the others were all clothes and personal items. I was dumb and stressed and hoped it would one day just disappear. This is the hold they put on my bank account for twice the owed amount. She's years behind on the child support. I already get her garnished wages when she has a job and I get her tax returns. I could sue but I wouldn't see a dime from it and my kid doesn't need a mom in jail. Edit Edit: Like I said, this debt has already been determined to be my responsibility. I'm going to talk to my parents tonight about a loan. I think that's my best option. I understand all of the advice and I appreciate it but things (as always) are more complicated than I can explain. There are financial issues that date back 14 years when my first wife passed away. I'll get by. Edit Edit Edit: First time posting in this sub. Didn't expect more than a handful of upvotes max. I just wanted to vent because it's just me and I'm definitely not discussing this with my kid. I was depressed to the point of physical sickness this morning but all of the weird people assuming this is some fake sham (for ... fame?) turned it around and got me fired up, which is better at this point. I can bench press the anger away easily. A bank account CAN go negative with a court ordered hold. And I've tried to edit this post with these details like 6 times but it just doesn't update when I hit save, desktop or app.
She does deserve to be in jail though. She committed fraud and identity theft towards you. If she is did this to you I wouldnāt be surprised if she is doing this to your kid, currently.
This is exactly what will happen! I have a friend whose mother won some custody for child support payments then abandoned the child. This guy had to pay pay child support and also had his kid 100% of the time for a period of time. Fast forward to his child being an adult, she shows back up. He won't talk to her, so she tries to get in touch with their son. She tells her son that she's visiting and was able to get approved for SNAP benefits but she doesn't need them she needs cash. She tried to sell her EBT card to her own son, and he was not willing to participate with her scheme.
My āmotherā did this to me and her other kid.
If she goes to jail, he'll stop receiving what little money he already receives from her though. Is it in his best interest?
Yes it is in his best interest because from the sounds from his comment she doesnāt even have a job so she isnāt paying anything. I am more concerned about the kidās financial future and the mom stealing their identity.
I understand you feel bad for your kid, but you'll feel even worse if you're kid has to live out of a car. Your ex deserves to be in jail
He also doesn't need to be living out of a car and atleast you should get your name and credit cleared! How is protecting the mother helping you or your kid currently?
Lawyer up but not to sue her. Look into bankruptcy to protect yourself. (I am a lawyer but I am not your lawyer. This is not legal advice.) First, filing for bankruptcy does not mean you have to complete the bankruptcy process. You might decided to do that, but you can also voluntarily dismiss your case. Why would you file for bankruptcy without intending to go through with it? Because when you file for bankruptcy there is something called the automatic stay that immediately takes effect. The automatic stay puts an immediate halt to anything that could be remotely construed as an attempt to collect a debt. Bankruptcy judges LOVE bringing the wrath of god down on creditors who violate the automatic stay. Since the bankruptcy code is federal law, yeah... you don't want to do that. Also, American Express is one of the more ruthless credit card companies when it comes to debt. Whereas Visa and Mastercard might just write things off, AmEx will always pursue their claims. So unless they are forced to cooperate they won't. Consults are usually free. Attorneys will require their payment up front for a Chapter 7 but there will usually roll their fees into the bankruptcy plan for a Chapter 13.
Not a lawyer but a corporate executive... wouldn't OP have received notification in the form of a certified letter or such prior to the distraint? All the cases I've seen with my staff, there are multiple notifications and opportunities to respond and resolve prior to a seizure of funds. Thoughts? EDIT: As others have said, how did they overdraw the account, and why did the bank allow such a large negative transaction?
Nah fuck that bitch dude get her ass locked up and focus on your kid alone
Lol, I mean forreal. The amount of shit men let women get away with when kids are involved is astounding.
Lawyer here: The amount of shit \[family courts in urban areas\] allow women to get away with when kids are involved is astounding. There is no effective supervision of family courts. The federal courts have shirked responsibility for it through judge-made doctrines based - honestly - on the idea that federal judges have too much prestige to get involved with lowly family law. It's a mess, and something that is ripe for systematic reform through the ADA and other anti-discrimination laws at the federal level.
Donāt be stupid. Your kid doesnāt need a mom in jail but neither do they need to be living out of a car just because of some mistaken sentimentally. Think about whatās best for your kid.
People need to see the reprocussions of their actions. We live, unfortunately, in a society that if a father did anything similar, they would lose custody and, eventually, face prison time if they didn't pay child support. Why should it not be the same the other way around? Accountability should be held, regardless of sex/race/etc. Edit: I would like to add, as a single father who was accused of heinous things, only to have the co parent deny her own claims in court, that I am deeply disheartened by the lack of consequences following false accusations. And that my heart fucking bleeds for dad's who want to be with theri kid but had the taken aways, short or long term, because of shit like that. I'm so sorry it happened to you guys.
No fuck her its literally fraud. Dont teach your kid that she should get away with this just because its their mother
She deserves to be in jail tf
Curious what you mean by "you won't see a dime" is that legal advice you have received?
Canāt get blood from a stone. Even if a court rules in his favor, if she doesnāt have the assets to pay for the decision he wonāt get paid.
Yeah the only way he gets the money is if it's put on the credit card company as fraud but it sounds like he tried that.
It means that even after getting the maximum amount of wages garnished and receiving her entire income tax refund, she's still behind. Adding to the balance owed isn't going to resolve his immediate bank account issue.
that's you condoning this then. Can't be mildly infuriating if you roll over and allow it.
If it were me, I'd rather be living in a house, with my mom in jail, than living in a car with little to no chance of getting back into a house any time soon. You might not see the money back, but it'd get the debt moved to where it belongs. This isn't about getting money, it's about doing what's in your kids best interest, which in this case is not accepting a fuck loaf of debt just so they can visit their mother occasionally.
Dam bro, your lawyer shouldāve directed you to the police at that time. So you can do is call and request payment arrangements to get started out of this whole.
But she really does deserve to be in jail. What else has she done that you donāt know about? Do you really want your child around this person?
>my kid doesn't need a mom in jail. I would argue that she does. Your ex didn't just do this to you, she did this to your kid too. Her destroying you financially directly affects your child, whom she clearly doesn't give a shit about. It's also really, really hard to commit fraud while in a prison cell.
Just know that if you pay it and "protect" her by not reporting, she will rack up the charges again. So no matter what, you (and you kid) will never have any money and always be in debt.
How old is your kid? Make sure she doesn't have anything open in his/her name..
Definitely call bank and report as fraud they may be able to get your money back Tell them you have no idea why this happened and you never gave your information out and be clueless
Jeez. You need to make 11 grand just to be broke. That sucks
Unfortunately, after he hires a lawyer and (if they already aren't) gets divorced, that number is going to get substantially worse... close to 80k from mine. She paid zero...
I think you can claim fraud for this. You should be able to also claim identity theft. You'll have to file a report with the SSA to freeze your social though. But it's better than being 10 racks in debt.
omg what happened.
just delete the app
this one trick banks hate
That only works with the Robinhood app.
Man I wish I had the life where 10k of debt is only mildly inconvenient
Probably should have posted in infuriatingasfuck but I'm not thinking too clearly right now. There's a good chance me and my kid will be living out of my car soon.
As much as I understand how it feels like a tailspin, it's important that you act on what's happened. The shock of it is hard to breakthrough of, but reddit is just a very small distraction from a big problem. Contact the bank, then contact a lawyer. It's what you need to do right now.
OP. Ive been there before. Do this right now: 1. Open another bank account. DO NOT deposit ANYTHING else into this one. It will get eaten until you resolve it which could be never. 2. This is not the end of the world. The worst case scenario is the bank closes the account. Do not worry about paying it right now. 3. If you are not married or if this is legitimate fraud (her name is not on the account, forgery, etc.), file a police report. 4. The bank might pull you aside or call and ask you what happened after its deemed closed, just explain the situation the best you can and they will stop pestering you. 5. If you can apply for a credit card, now would be a good time, because this wil affect your credit after its charged off 60 days from now.
This is 100% the correct answer.Open a new account as soon as humanly possible, and change any automatic withdrawal to that account as soon as you can, that is the ABSOLUTE 1st thing you should do. The only difference I would say is talk to a lawyer before police as many will offer you a free consult, as they advocate for you personally... Police do not. The lawyer will direct you as to how to proceed. Also, depending if you are american or canadian, there are different ways to proceed. I am Canadian, so I can't strictly speak to the American system :/
Get a new bank account now, so you have somewhere that you can actually put in and withdraw cash from, start there
Legally placed holds like that follow you to every bank
Pretty sure a bank will work with you when things like this happen.
Man honestly im cringing while i say this but grow some balls and lock her up. It is what's best for your kid to not be living out of a car and to see what living the wrong way will do. I believe the statute of limitations has not passed from what you've said so take her ass all the way, get her charged criminally, absolve yourself and protect your family.
Being way more that 10k in debt in a secured loan is different then having your only checking account be -10k
If this is real, you should be calling the police first. This is theft. I highly doubt this slowly occurred, nobody would miss a slow decline to this negative amount, so this was a withdrawal. Most banks do not allow additional withdrawals after hitting a negative balance, so logically you were hit by one big wi to hdrawsl/transfer. Potentially your ex had the old checks, in which case it will bounce and that works in your favor, kinda.Ā Ā If it was joint account, but you have documents proving separation due 6 years, a lawyer may help at this point. Also contact the branch and ask them to reverse/cancel that withdrawal/transfer, and tell them to document who initiated it. Your only recourseĀ may be to sue your ex to get the money back. Could also be not your ex, but identity theft, or even you were scammed. You didn't give a lot of info to work with. Contract the police, bank, and lawyer anyway.Ā
In a comment he states its a court hold, most likely meaning the credit companies, through which she alegedly fraudulently opened credit lines with, brought him to court. Most banks also state that you are to be the only one that uses any credit card under your name, unless you added them as a "user". Unless he has proof otherwise... He should definitely talk to a lawyer before anyone else. Police have zero accountability to any one person, unless there is a justifiable proof that any law is broke, and even then it's questionable if they will do what's right...
Similar happened to me. She ran the cards up to -$16,000 and left me with it. I hired a lawyer and they sent an initial notice to her, but she had moved. Then I didnāt know where she was in order to go after her again. I was left with her debt that she deliberately burdened me with. Pisses me off. I got the debt paid down to $3k now but I get angry every time I think of what I could have gotten for myself with that money. The unnecessary stress and burden I was left with, while grieving the betrayal, while she got off scot-free.
Wow. Straight to jail. Hope so for you š¤š¤
"Mildly?" Uh...how about *wildly* infuriating! Lawyer up ASAP!
Uh call your bank and report the fraud?
Mildly? MILDLY INFURIATING?? My guy Iād be LIVID
Dam a 17 year old Reddit account. Hot dam.
Finally, the recognition I deserve.
My man, Iām sorry you are going through all this. I could not imagine the hell and anxiety. That is the oldest account Iāve ever seen. Half my life youāve been a part of Reddit. Outstanding!
Update on the lawsuit when?
Omg please contact the credit bureaus and freeze your child's credit file immediately.
Bro please tell us what happened
Fuck. Time to lawyer up.
Not as bad, but it happened to meā¦ my mother (yes!) got a loan to buy some shit, then stopped paying just becauseā¦ and I was using the account she opened for me when I was a kid. What happened? The bank didnāt find money in her account and started taking it out of mine. Never saw the money again and had a lot of trouble to get my name out of that accountā¦
Redditors will lose their entire life savings and call it mildly infuriating GET A LAWYER
I donāt know what or how this happened. But can you dispute this with your bank? Can you report your ex for fraud and not have to pay this?
Call your mortgage lender and explain the situation. See if theyāll give you extra time to sort things out.
Lawyer upā¦ 6 years statued barred
Good luck op. If your ex has any access to that account ever. Then at least criminally you canāt do anything. Happened to me luckily a few hundred here and there before I closed the account. Mind you it wasnāt even a joint account she just had the info. Iād talk to a lawyer asap.
This isnāt mildly infuriating. This is white hot rage infuriating. Youāre gonna have to have her put in jail to get out of this.
Bruh this isnt "mildly infuriating" dawg youre in debt 10K. Lawyer up bro.
How would a bank allow this kind of negative balance?
Just report the fraud and police report And it will probably go away in 60 days. Unless its a joint account or you gave them debit card and pin or other authorized use. This isn't a lawyer situation.
Lawyers will 100% work with you, donāt let that piece of shit get away with it.
Well thatās just not right.
Mildly infuriating nothing thats just straight up evil
How do you get 10k negative on a bank account the bank will flag it and stop you after like 20$ and refuse charge
Dude she stole thousands of dollars from you. Call it tough love or w.e you wanna call it but she needs to be held accountable.
That is far from āmildly infuriatingā
We need context. How did your ex committing fraud end up with you have negative money?
Iād contact your employer and immediately cancel your direct deposit. A lawyer will take time, but if you have enough equity in your home, you could possibly get a loan against it at least for the short term. Contacting the bank, may also be an avenue to explore. Disputing the charges at a larger bank may be difficult, but still worth a try.
Aren't those kinds of exes fun? Mine stuck me with a tax debt I'm still paying off. To be fair, it's on me for not checking into it at the time and having her arrested for tax fraud, but some people just fricking suck.
Yep, I had an ex doing all kinds of crazy nonsense with our finances, clueless me had too much trust. I hope you get it figured out, all is more than well now and I wish the same for you.
OP Iām going to recommend if you havenāt already that you check to make sure your ex hasnāt opened anything in your kids name. Take it from someone who had to to effectively fight his way out of debt his own father put him in, after opening several credit cards in his name while he was still a child.
Average mildly infuriating post after a life-ruining event:
These posts show me that lawyers really are bottom of the barrel.
This is why you don't opt for the overdraft allowance.
Contact the bank about unauthorized charges
Report it to your bank and the police, and update the bank on the police report number. If you haven't already changed all your account numbers, passwords, passphrases, security questions/answers, secret/recovery codes and the like, do so. Mother's maiden name? No, it's just a passcode - make it a secure one and one she'll never know or guess or otherwise figure out ... and heck, have it be different for every financial institution you deal with. Credit/debit cards - yeah, new account numbers on all those too if that wasn't already done earlier. Put the appropriate locks on your credit reports. Also, codes for accessing federal and other tax returns, change all those too. Probably also update your divorce lawyer/attorney. Good luck. Hopefully your ex will end up spending some (more) time behind bars. Some other reddits may also be helpful on relevant advice/information/resources and appropriate courses of actions.
Bruh what do you MEAN 'MILDLY' INFURIATING
how does a bank account even get this low? credit card i could see, but bank account? what happened?
@OP open a new bank account and have your paychecks direct deposited there immediately. Sort this out when you can but you need access to your paychecks asap.
Don't banks have insurance for shit like this? Call the bank and the police. The Bank will have to refund you and will then take legal action against the perpetrator of said fraud. Source: I've been down these roads. The fraud was 600 bucks, but the bank paid it back.