Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
Counterfeit money.
On December 11, 2001, my daughter received her paycheck in cash from a local discount store were she is employed. The next day on December 12, 2001 around 9:30am I went to another local market and spent a $100.00 bill which my daughter had given me from her paycheck to buy a few groceries. On December 12, 2001 around 7:45pm my oldest daughter stopped in the same market I spent part of the $100.00 in to purchase some dog food, at was told by the owner's son that the owner would like to speak to me(her mother). On December 13, 2001 around 6:30 pm I went to the market and spoke with the owner and her son, and they showed me a receipt they had be given from the bank stating that a $100.00 dollar bill they tried to deposit was counterfeit. On December 15, 2001 I went to the store where my daughter was employed and spoke with the owner there and she said that she normally checks her bills before she receives them and it is not possible she could have givin a counterfeit bill. Now the local marker were I spent part of the $100.00 is asking that I pay it back.
Please advise.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Counterfeit money.
Thanks for your posting, and you (or your daughter), have a very interesting situation.
I agree with Ken -- this would be a case that would be impossible to prove. In the counterfeiting cases I have worked on in the past, you would have treasury agents or police on you immediately if they believed that you were a source or a method of disbursement for counterfeit bills.
I wouldn't worry about it, and based upon what you've stated, my advice would be not to pay the store.
Re: Counterfeit money.
1. Unless that was the only $100 bill that was received by the store that day, it would be difficult to prove that it came from you.
2. The fact that the owner where your daughter works "normally" checks to see if bills are real does not mean it was done on this particular bill.
This is not a fun situation for anyone, but I don;t see where you would have any liability. There is a burden of proof on the part of the store that claims that you gave them the bill that it was actually the bill that you gave them. You can demonstrate a direct link between any money that you spent there as coming from your daughter's employer.
If this went into small claims court, based on a suit by the store, you could bring in the employer as a cross-defendant. Your daughter should go to her employer again, and explain the situation. Any threats of termination or other negative action on the part of the employer should be immediately reported to the Employment Development Department (EDD).
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