I have a friend charged with some charges....Any feedback whatsoever would be great.?

Question

I have a friend charged with the following:
Forgery VA Code 18.2-172
Uttering VA Code 18.2-172
Grand Larceny VA Code 18.2-95

Scenario: A relative of hers gave her some of her checks and asked her to write them and get money. My friend wrote them at Wal-Mart etc. and the realtive denies having anything to do with it. Two things:
1) Will any of those charges come off if it is found that the relative was involved?
2) Is it possible my friend could get no jail time?
She has no record whatsoever. It was a conspiracy more than anythin.. Any feedback, any opinons whatsoever please..
Thank You

Answer 1

If she has proof that the relative asked her to do it and that she was incompetent to understand the nature of the crime then she might get a slap on the wrist. Sounds though like she'll have an unpleasant time coming.

Answer 2

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I think that your friend is in a little trouble and I also think that there is more to the story than you know.

I am a corporate attorney, we all had to study criminal law so I am qualified to answer this.

If indeed the person did give your friend permission it is still against the law to write checks or sign someone else's name to them. It sounds like, if in fact your friend did have permission, that the person who's checks they were knew that there was insufficient funds in the account or deliberately set out to harm your friend. I don't think that it is either, honestly.

Even if the person who the checks belong to comes forward and tells the authorities that she did give your friend permission to write said checks it is still a crime in the eyes of the law.
I don't think that the charges that are currently pending will be the charges that she is convicted of though. Usually how it works it that they charge people with a higher crime so that they can bargain or make a "plea deal" with the defendant agreeing to plea to a lesser crime. This is more than likely what they will do.

I can say though, that the charges will not go away or get dropped and more than likely your friend will have to admit or plea to lesser charges and accept the punishment for those. If your friend decides not to take a plea deal it could be very costly and the outcome of possibly being convicted on the original charges are much greater. Prosecutors do not like it when plea deals are turned down and usually do not go too lightly if your friend ends up going to trial and gets convicted usually pushing for a much harsher sentence.

I do suggest that your friend not hesitate at all in seeking out the advice of and possibly hiring an attorney to represent them as soon as possible. If your friend can avoid using the services of a public defender I recommend that they do so, public defenders usually cooperate with prosecutors and tend to push their clients to accept what the prosecutor has offered.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

First of all, as I mentioned before, this is not legal advice--you need to discuss these issues or confirm these issues with your counsel of record.

There are many things that go into evaluating a case; this is known as a "totality of circumstances." The good news is your friend doesn't have a criminal record. Now, first of all, word to the wise, let's try to keep it that way.

The first thing she may want to do is to file a criminal action against this relative or friend. If this relative deceived your friend, then this person should be prosecuted. There are criminal elements of fraud: 1. the intent to deceive; 2. your friend relied on this information; 3. your friend changed her position in relation to the information that was provided to her; 4. as a result of this information and change in position she was damaged.

You can call the local police department and file charges against this "relative."

What information do you have to give me that would lead a jury to believe that your friend was deceived into doing this act? What, if anything, was your friend going to get out of this? What is the relative saying? What is the level of the influence of the relative? What is the level of gullibility of your friend?

Answer 4

1) No. The only thing is, that the relative will also be charged.

2)If your friend is under 21, she may qualify for HYTA, since it is a non-violent crime. HYTA, she may still see some jail time, but not much. When she completes sentence (which will include probation and restitution) her record will be exponged, and it will never show up again on any record check.

Answer 5

How she got those cheques are the main issues.

If she is living with her relative, that would be a dead end. -> jail.

If her relative was visiting them for a few days or living in different place, there may be a chance to argue. There is still a reasonable doubt on how she got those cheques and how she learnt where those cheques were. Even police need to prove their arguement on those questions.

Answer 6

Whose signature is on the checks? If its the relative's then she should stand a better chance. If she forged the signatures she's screwed because thats the part that needs to match up at the bank.

Answer 7

No one on this website can possibly answer your question. You need to talk to an attorney. Most criminal defense attorneys have a free consultation.