Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

It sounds fishy to me, too. Failure to repay a loan isn't a crime. Borrowing with the intent not to repay is a crime, but usually it would be an issue of state law and not federal. And federal prosecutors normally don't behave the way you describe.

If the caller is really a local U.S. Attorney, then he should be licensed to practice law in California. Look up his name at www.calbar.ca.gov. If he's listed, check to see if the site says he's a U.S. Attorney. If it does, see whether the phone number is the same. If it isn't, call him at the number listed on the site and ask if the other call is legitimate.

I agree with Mr. Hoffman. That sounds like some sort of intimidating scam to me.

In addition to the concern of this being a scam, whenever threatened, arrested or charged with any crime, �what can you do�? No amount of free 'tips and hints' from here or anywhere else are going to effectively help you in your defense, other than the advice to exercise the 5th Amendment RIGHT to SHUT UP and do NOT talk to authorities or ANYONE about the details of the case except through an attorney. Most police and prosecutors will happily tell you that 95% of people convict themselves by trying to be 'helpful and cooperative', either during initial contact, questioning, interview or interrogation. Hire an attorney, unless you know how to effectively represent yourself in court against a professional prosecutor intending to convict. If serious about hiring counsel to help in this, and if this is in SoCal courts, feel free to contact me.

as above, sounds like a scam you can ignore. If you need closure, you could call the US Attorney's office and see if there is any open case. If there were, you would have likely have received some type of legitimate-looking paperwork. Good luck!