need some legal advice on this one!!

[mike19]

before i post this i want everyone to know this aint made up it all happened to me a couple of days ago. that is why i need people advice/legal advice on what to do.


this is what is goin on and also this is what i need someone's advice on :

a couple days ago i got this email from a dude saying do u want to work for me. An i just real quick read threw it i didnt re- look it over. now what im suppose to do is checks will be sent to my house. payable to me and im suppose to cash the checks and keep 10 percent and send the rest off using a money transfer. now the checks had address on them. they were from some lady in OR. and the envelope it came in had a stamp from calif. that is where they were sent from calif. but im suppose to cash the checks and keep 10percent from the checks and send the 90 percent over sea's to a place in like russia using a money transfer(western union). now in your advice would u keep all the money from the checks or send them the 90percent and keep the 10percent. like is there any way i can get in trouble for keeping the money. the checks were sent in a regular enevelope. with no letter inside telling me what to do. and also they were made payable to me. the only information i got was from the dude that emailed me to tell me what to do. and also the dude that emailed me said that they have the problem with cashing checks in
the USA, that's why we turned to me, we offer you to become our agent
in the USA.



below is a step by step of what i am suppose to do


1. You need to cash the check at the check cashier’s centers (they take the fee for their services from the check value).
2. If you do not have access to check cashier’s centers, you can cash money at the bank.
3. After you have cashed the check, please, keep 10 percent of the sum of the check.
4. Transfer the remaining 90% sum of money via Western Union or Money Gram (the transfer fee can be taken off the sum of transfer, so no extra payment shall be needed).
5. Information on transfer of money via Western Union or Money Gram
Name ……………
Surname ………
City Riga
Country Latvia
6. After you have transferred the money, you will be given the control number MTCN (Money Transfer Control Number).
7. Send this number and information on the sum you have sent to our Foundation.
8. The sums of individual transfers should not exceed $5000. Reports are not included into IRS. Do not worry, you won’t have to pay taxes for these sums of money.’



........... NOW IS THERE ANY WAY I CAN GET IN TROUBLE OF I KEEP ALL OF THE MONEY BECAUSE RIGHT NOW IM BROKE AND I NEED A JOB SO BASCIALLY I NEED THE MONEY .............

[YARDofSTUF]

WTF were you doing saying yes? You have too many posts to be spam. Why do u read spam email? Get rich quick or earn cash easy and fast never work.


You want advice, tell the guy u wont do it and never cash a check.

[mike19]

to late i already put the money into my bank account im waiting right now for the checks to clear at the bank also i only had like 2dollars in the bank so if it is a scam they are only getting 2 dollars out of my bank account i mean the checks are legit they are just personal checks also

[emilyb]

Are you insane? Geez...don't keep the money, don't have anything to do with it! It sounds like some freakin' Grisham novel! I can't even begin to fathom why they need you to cash checks but it is not legal, period. I would say you could get in huge trouble for doing that and considering keeping it??? geez! I would call the police and get it all out in the open before you get caught in the middle of God knows what!

[downhill]

Dude.......there isn't any such thing as a free ride. It's some kind of scam. I'd go to the bank and let them know the check could be fradulent.

Also.....You could be and probably already are, in hot water. That's why you need to get to the bank asap.

About keeping it. If you don't mind a visit by the Latvia mafia, then by all means.......

[Burke]

It's frightening how many people will take the time to ask users of a tech forum for legal advice...even worse, something that should just be common sense to not be involved in to begin with.

[nightowl]

what you are doing is called money laundering and it is illegal! (sounds like the russian mob to me if the money is going to russia)

get a lawyer and Go to your local police station tomorrow and explain what you have done and they can help you out to fix this mess.

[emilyb]

Oh, and I would like to add htis to the last 4 posts....
"Run! Run for your lives!"

[poptom]

Don't plan on spending any of that "money". The checks will not clear.

[emilyb]

I was just trying to figure what the scam in this could be if it is not money laundering, but merely theft. I guess just the hopes of someone transfering the "money" before it clears the bank and hoping to get a chunk of the persons own money. I don't know, my mind is not devious enough.

[thepieman]

well you could keep the money, but when you transfer the cash and there is something wrong, they will only find you holding the bag, the other guys will have disappeared. Anyway, you reap what you sow. I'd do a google search on that kind of deal and see what comes up. Be smart.



Pie

[Bouncer]

It's a scam. Take the checks and throw them out or contact the police.

The way it works is, you cash the checks (which are forgeries), then you wire the money. The problem is this. Whether at your bank or at the check cashing place, YOU are legally responsible for the bad check amount AND can be charged with check forging!

Basically, it is as if YOU are writing a bad check.

You can read all about it here:

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/consum...fakechecks.htm

Seriously, you may be desperate for money, but this will only put you in jail, which will just compound your problems. Walk away and consider yourself lucky.

Regards,
-Bouncer-

[Humboldt]

Nothing personal buddy but if you took this seriously I can only think of one word...idiot.

Look at the second post here http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=3667

Your saving grace is that you had $2 in the bank

another similar one: Check Processing Business Fraud

This one has all the earmarks of a legitimate business,

but it can land you in JAIL for Wire Fraud, Money Laundering,

and passing counterfeit / forged checks.

>>>NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! More and more jurisdictions and banking companies are aware of the prevalence of counterfeit check schemes emanating from Nigerian fraud rings and competing criminal elements.

Very, very few banks press criminal charges. However, check cashing stores do and there still remain those local enforcement officers who do not conduct a thorough investigation and prosecutors who appear not to care and insist on criminal proceedings.

DO NOT WAIVE YOUR MIRANDA RIGHTS!

REQUESTING AN ATTORNEY IS NOT AN ADMISSION OF GUILT!

The Scam: The offers are posted on bulletin boards and arrive as a business opportunity in your email box, come at you in the form of Instant Messages and Private Messages.

The offer is simple: a person in a foreign country, sometimes alleged to be in one of the old Soviet Bloc countries, states that he or she has a business selling product over the Internet or has a charitable organization that needs to accept donations. Due to [invented] legal exigencies in the stated country, this person cannot process the checks that arrive for payment of the product. Would you mind processing the checks on their behalf? Your "commission" is usually 10% -20% of the checks processed.

The upshot is that once you have cashed the checks and forwarded the 80% back to your so-called boss, you are notified that the checks were forged, stolen, or counterfeit. And you are left holding the bag, meaning that you owe the bank for whatever you sent back to the swindler and personally spent. Law suits and and criminal charges are possible but not prevalent.

and another http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/...tion_scams.htm

[CiscoKid]

California and the Russian maffia go together like bread and wine at the last supper...

A couple years back, they found bodies in one of the local resivoirs that linked back to the russians...just to let you know...

[Izzo]

call the police, FBI, SWAT ....whoever ... bad news this thing is

[horsemen_]

first off if you don't go to jail if you really need a job and money every fast food place is hiring in the USA every day of the week every day of the year.
ya its fast food yuck but if your hurting and need a job asap that will work until you find another one if you need money bad get rid of a few things like the Internet cable tv don't eat out and yes taco bell is eating out. when you get gas don't get that soda also. but don't do a free money deal their all ways bad news some wear down the line. maybe jail/prison and even possible death if its the right people

[BaLa]

I would LOVE to know how this turns out..

[§I€MFKR™]

You didn't think it was odd for someone to just send you money? The only way I can think of that will get you out of this mess is to send me all the money, I will count it and send back 60% to you.

BTW: How much were the checks?

[drdoug99]

My legal advice is to ask a lawyer or policeman....why ask some computer geeks?

[Zilog B]

WTF? Tell me this is shens and nobody is that stupid