Thje budding thief is Natalie. She’s 18. Her mother Adelaide is 48; the grandmother, Maureen, is 78. All live in the same house in Torrance.
Natalie, with her boyfriend Joey, has apparently embarked on a life of crime. Most recently she stole a pad of checks belonging to Maureen–who has since closed the account.
I have urged Maureen to contact the local police. (I’m surprised the bank hasn’t already done so.)
This affected me personally when a check Maureen paid me for yard work I did, was returned to me by my bank. The check was for $20; I was docked that amount plus a $5 fee. I have a good mind to wring Natalie’s neck. :mad:
With some of the things Natalie and Joey have done so far, I’m surprised they’ve gone this far without being arrested.
OK, I’ve read this twice now and I’m not seeing where you’re asking for advice.
Otto, it was printed twice because the damn browser didn’t acknowledge it the first time. :mad:
What I want to know is whether I should contact the Torrance Police, or ask my bank (or Maureen’s) to do so. Maureen knows damn well her granddaughter is a thief…how much rope will she give Natalie before the girl hangs herself? 
I’d ask the police what to do about it. Or, if you have a good relationship with someone at your bank, as that person about it. I’m not sure that the cops can really do anything about it right now, but they might be able to point you in the right direction.
As for future transactions…I’d insist on cash, up front. I’d also refuse to buy anything from anyone in the family…it miight very well be hot. Even if Adelaide or Maureen is trying to sell you something, it might be a “gift” from Natalie. If you can, I’d advise you to have NOTHING to do with anyone in the family, unless you’re particularly fond of Adelaide or Maureen. There’s gonna be a shitstorm coming down pretty quick if Natalie keeps this up, and even if you’re innocent, you could very well come out covered in shit and smelling bad.
Why is the ball in Maureen’s court?
This chick kited a check to you knowing full well that it was going to bounce. I’m no lawyer, but that sounds like fraud.
Call the cops yourself. You’ve been wronged.
I’m jealous that your bank only nailed you for $5 for a bounced check. Mine charges $30 whether I’m the one that writes the check or someone else writes a bad check issued to me.
This mother and grandmother have no interest in this Natalie person, probably never did and that’s probably why she turned out to be such a rotten person.
Call the cops, press charges.
Press what charges against whom? As I read it, Maureen wrote dougie a check that bounced. Presumably, it bounced because she was unaware that her granddaughter was draining the account with the stolen checks. So, Maureen was, I’d guess, not consciously defrauding dougie, although she does owe him the $20 and should reimburse him the bounce fee, as well.
It doesn’t sound like taking some action against Maureen is likely to alter Natalie’s behavior.
Otto wasn’t talking about reading both incarnations of the post. He was talking about going over it a second time to make sure he didn’t miss anything. The OP really wasn’t clear.
To what purpose? Do you actually have evidence of criminal actions?
Again, to what purpose? Of all the parties mentioned, only you have a relationship with your bank. They don’t have a dog in this fight.
Presumably you don’t have a relationship with Maureen’s bank. What information do you have that would even interest them, much less prompt them to call the authorities?
Sadly, probably all of it. It’s often tough for grandparents (even parents) to lower the boom on their precious offspring.
What I gather is that you have been indirectly affected by Natalie’s theft of Maureen’s checks. The problem is that your only legal concern here is Maureen paying you. You can sue Maureen if she doesn’t make good on the $20 (and the $5, I would think).
I’m guessing that nothing will happen in regard to the stolen checks unless Maureen presses charges. Her bank doesn’t have a hand in it unless they catch Natalie in the act of forgery (in other words, physically at the bank trying to pass a stolen check). You can call the police to get info about this, but without a complaint from the direct victim, or usable evidence of a crime (e.g., eyewitness report), I doubt they can take any action.
If you can prove that Moe knew the check was bad, you can get her on uttering.
Maureen had given the bank the numbers of the checks Natalie stole. The one Maureen paid me for my yard work was not one of those.
Maureen had urged me to deposit or cash the check promptly so it would not be presented after her bank had closed the account. Unfortunately I–or, rather, my bank–was not prompt enough. Maureen has made an effort to correct the situation with the bank–I’m not the only payee of hers whose check was thus (improperly) dishonored.
I have known Maureen and Adelaide since before Natalie was born. Maureen has earned my respect, and I hers–Adelaide “respects” me too, to some extent, though she is inexcusably indolent–to look at her and her daughter Natalie, I sense that in this instance the apple sure doesn’t fall far from the tree.
WTF? Maybe, knowing the account was going to be closed. Maureen could’ve scraped together the double-sawbuck to pay you in cash rather than involving you in this shit to begin with?
Somebody who played this sort of game with me would lose any respect she’d earned previously.
It’s not your place to go to the police. You’re not the victim of any crime. If Maureen has notified the bank what checks were stolen it’s up to her, the bank, or the recipient of a stolen check to press charges.
I agree, Otto. I sense that Maureen contacted her bank somewhat after the fact–after she had paid me the check; I doubt she would be imprudent enough to issue a check on an account soon to be frozen or closed. In fact I deposited the check shortly afterward, that same day–on January 20th. The check was presented to Maureen’s bank on the 26th, according to the paper my bank sent me. If everything Maureen has told me is true, I’m surprised she hasn’t had her daughter and her granddaughter thrown in jail!
Since the last post I made to this thread, Maureen has contacted her bank. People there admitted they were in error to dishonor the check I presented (rather, deposited in my bank’s ATM) as well as one other Maureen had written. In fact Maureen has since reimbursaed me–in cash–for the $20. I have a good mind to take the remaining $5 out of the granddaughter’s hide!
In the words of a wise minor league ballplayer…
That’s absolutely the best thing anyone can do in this situation. If you can have the cops land on them with everything they can. Nothing has a better chance of straightening out a budding criminal than learning how quickly and completely the forces of justice can fuck them up.
Take it from one who knows.
Heck, if you explained the situation they might well be willing to help. Sort of an early prevention thing.
God knows I could have used it about 20 years ago.
Well said, Jon.
I should point out that this thief is the daughter–the second child–of a woman I have referred to as “ditzy” elsewhere on the SDMB. Maybe I was wrong to use that word; and a better comment would be one used by Merrill Pollack–“Some people should never be allowed to have children.” Adelaide certainly appears to be a case in point.