Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
assuming someone ran up 50K worth of credit card debt with no intention of paying it back, and fled the country. they are presumably found guilty of credit card fraud, or contempt of court for not appearing. would there be an arrest warrant waiting for you at the airport when you return?
3/01/12, 12:52 amAnswer (1 of 1) Highly doubtful anything at all would happen to the individual. Lots of people borrow $50K and go bust. The credit card issuer would have a hard time proving your "intention," or in persuading the police to become involved, at least for this amount of money. There would almost certainly not be a criminal case. There might be a civil judgment or two, but this would never result in an arrest warrant "waiting for you at the airport." Very probably the debtor could file for bankruptcy upon return to the U.S. and discharge most or all debt. But if there is clear proof of fraud all bets are off.
ok, thanks. so, what would constitute clear proof of fraud? if someone applied for a bunch of credit cards, then immediately maxed them all out and left the country shortly after would that be proof? would they look at what kind of things you bought?
3/01/12, 2:42 amAnswer (1 of 1) Your follow-up question makes me uncomfortable. If you are contemplating credit card fraud in the future, I'm not going to help you plan your crime or get away with it. There's a difference between "running up $50K of credit card debt" and "immediately maxing out" "a bunch of credit cards." There is a risk that you could be arrested and prosecuted. If you can't do the time don't do the crime. Fleeing across state lines or international boundaries with the intent to avoid prosecution is a separate federal offense. But, again, I doubt that an arrest warrant would be "waiting for you at the airport." More likely you would first receive a visit from a detective or FBI agent. If that happens, do not speak except to say that your lawyer will be in touch.
ok, i see. well, you don't need to worry about that, since what happened here is all in the past tense already. someone i 'know' did max out about 8 credit cards within a short time, and subsequently move abroad, ignoring the debt. is it relevant that he or she took advantage of the fact that some of these credit card companies are not too bright in that, if you make an online payment to an already maxed out card, they will automatically credit back that amount of credit to your card without waiting to see if the payment went through, i.e. if the bank account from which you made the online payment actually had any money in it...thereby said person actually did a bit 'more' than max out his or her cards. in any case, the total debt amounting to some 50K. i should also mention that this person may not have been totally calm and rational, but in a distressed state when doing these things. now he or she is concerned about legal implications, mainly arrest warrents or being prevented from getting a passport by an embassy. any info. would be greatly appreciated.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Your friend needs to retain legal counsel if he or she is concerned about something adverse happening upon return to the US. She cannot rely upon information received from a free legal forum, or from an attorney who hasn't fully reviewed all of the facts of the matter.
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