What to do about an oldloan that I am being threatened about?
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What to do about an oldloan that I am being threatened about?
A lawyer from a law firm called me today and said, “Criminal charges are in the process of being filed against you for a loan”. He went on to say that he was giving me a courtesy call before the county sheriffs are asked to step in. If I do not comply I will be charged also for committing fraud of a bounced check from 4 years ago. What is the procedure with this and what’s the worse that can happen?
Asked on December 2, 2011 under Bankruptcy Law, Michigan
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
First, for an attorney to threaten a criminal action against you to gain an advantage over you in a civil matter that is an ethical violation under the requirements of all state bar associations in this country for a lawyer to do. I suspect that the call was not from an attorney. If it was from a third party debt collection company, the call would seem to be an unfair debt collection practice in your state and under federal law.
Second, the loan and the bounced check claim may be barred by your state's applicable statute of limitations if the incident forming the basis of the claim happened more than 4 years ago and no lawsuit was filed.
I suggest that you make a state bar complaint against the "attorney" who called and threatened you. I would wait and see what happens. If you are actually served with a summmons and complaint, you should consult with an attorney who practices general civil litigation.
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