If the perp that stole my money pays me back can I still request the police follow through with the charges.
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If the perp that stole my money pays me back can I still request the police follow through with the charges.
At an Indian casino I put my voucher $530 into an ATM and a notice came up on the screen that they could not complete my transaction and then a ticket was spit back out. The problem is that the ticket it spit out was for 47 cents not my $530. I immediately turned and asked for a floor supervisor. Security was called. A review of the tapes shows a woman walking up to the same casino ATM after me and inserting her ticket. The machine would not process/cash her ticket either and kicked a ticket back out. It was my voucher for $530. She immediately went to another casino ATM and cashed out my ticket for $530 and left the casino. The casino says that I have to press charges against her because she stole my ticket and my money. I argued that it was their machine malfunction but they refused to do anything. I called the police who reviewed the security tape. They knew her name and address and called her several times that night. No response. They said they needed a warrant to proceed but couldn’t get the warrant until the casino sent the tape. However, the casino didn’t send the tape for 6 weeks. The police sent her a letter saying that she needed to call them and return the money. She finally called 4 days after signing for the letter and said that she found the money voucher, which we know isn’t true. She put her husband on the phone who is a retired cop and he claimed it was
Asked on August 12, 2017 under Criminal Law, New York
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
No, if the money is returned, she did not commit any crime: returning it once she knows that it belongs to someone else and that legally you must return it negates criminal intent--she did not intend to steal it from you if she returns it once she's aware that it was legally your money. Without criminal intent ("mens rea"), there is no crime.
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