Would I have an arrest warrant out for me regarding the sale of merchandise?
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Would I have an arrest warrant out for me regarding the sale of merchandise?
I was selling some equipment to someone from a different state. They sent me a deposit to hold the equipment for them until the end of the month so they could come up with the rest of the money. The end of the month came and arrangements have been made to pay the remaining money. I sold the equipment to someone else and kept the non-refundable deposit. They are arguing that they don’t believe it was non-refundable and they want the deposit back. I have not given the money back and now they have informed me that they are taking legal action and I have a warrant for my arrest.
Asked on August 22, 2011 Mississippi
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
It's not impossible--but it is unlikely--that there might be a warrant out for your arrest IF it was the case that they were able to convince the police that rather than being a bona fide offer for sale, where either they breached the terms (didn't pay on time) or there is a dispute over the terms of sale (i.e. did they breach; do you owe them the deposit back), that instead this was a scam or fraud where you had no intention of every providing something of value and were just tricking them out of their money. As I say, if they could convince the police of that, there *could* be a warrant for your arrest, though matters like this, the police usually do not get involved in--they treat them, for the most part, like the contractual or vendor-customer disputes that they are. You should be able to confirm whether there is a warrant: have you customer tell you where it's issuing from, then either you or your attorney can contact that jurisdiction.
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