Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Defaulted on SBA loan. Statute of limitations?

I have defaulted on an SBA loan. Here are the charges:

The charges were filed at the US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISDTRICT OF CALIFORNIA WESTERN DIVISION.

1. ? Counts of Bank Fraud Title 18 USC 1344 2.Four Counts of making false statements Title 18 USC 1001 3.One count of conspiracy to commit money laundering Title 18, USC 1956(h) 4.Seven Counts of money laundering Title 18, USC, 1957(a)

The case: The SBA guaranteed a loan through 2 banks. I am a 69 year old grandmother that had a clean record, not even a parking ticket, is the sole signer of the SBA loan.

Cases where indictments have been thrown out:

US, Plaintiff - Appellant,

v. DOUGLAS THOMPSON; ROGER THOMPSON,

THE SECOND CASE:US, Appellee, Hugh McIntosh, Andrew Russo,et-al. The RICO convictions overturned because of the 5 year statute of limitations. [*713] five-year statute of limitations applicable to RICO prosecutions, 18 U.S.C. � 3282 [**23]

Since I signed the SBA loan papers in late spring/early summer of 1997 and the US filed charges on November 13th, 2002, that would mean that they filed after the 5 year statute of limitations. What I need to know is that what I suppose about the 5 year statute of limitations is true?

Thank you,

Joan


Asked on 9/22/03, 5:08 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Defaulted on SBA loan. Statute of limitations?

You are not being charged with defaulting on your student loan -- which is not even a crime. Without more facts I could not begin to say what led to these charges, but a mere loan default wouldn't lead to anything like this.

The case you cite does not deal with the same laws the prosecutor is using against you here, so as far as I can tell it isn't applicable to your case. Offhand I don't know what the applicable limitations periods are for the sections under which you have been charged, or whether there are any exceptions in cases involving student loans.

Also, without knowing more facts, I cannot say whether the limitations period actually began running when you signed the student loan papers or not. If these charges are based on later events, then the statutes would have begun running on the dates those events took place. It seems that at least some of the charges must be based on events after you signed the loan application.

The charges against you are very serious. You need to sit down face-to-face with competent defense counsel immediately to get a handle on what is going on here. The lawyer will want to know a lot more facts than you can provide in the finite space available on this web site, and will need to have a lengthy dialogue with you. LawGuru simply isn't set up to work this way.

If you can't afford a lawyer (most people who default on their student loans can't) the court will appoint one for you. Don't let any more time go by -- you need to find an attorney right away.

Good luck.

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Answered on 9/22/03, 5:31 pm
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Defaulted on SBA loan. Statute of limitations?

Just a correction -- my prior response said "student loan" instead of "SBA loan". The analysis is the same regardless of the type of loan at issue, so don't let my error lead you to doubt the rest of my answer. You still need a lawyer ASAP.

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Answered on 9/22/03, 5:34 pm
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Re: Defaulted on SBA loan. Statute of limitations?

It may be true, but you have not provided enough information to provide a valid or useful opinion, nor to address all the many issues raised in those charges. The first assumption to be dealt with is that the prosecutor already reviewed the filing for such statutory problems, and believes there are none. You should not rely upon any advice given unless from an experienced attorney who has reviewed all the facts and documents with you, and with whom you have a 'comfort level'. Feel free to contact me if interested in having such consultation.

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Answered on 9/22/03, 6:41 pm


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