Expert: Philip Sweeting - 12/10/2006

Question
I know someone who have applied for things in their ex husbands name but wasn't approved for anything.The ex found out and said he was pressing charges,plus he's saying the police can pick her up when they  finish the paper work is this true?

Answer
I assume the person applied for some type of credit and falsely filled out the credit application. It would be a crime to falsely apply for the credit and also a crime, theft, to receive anything of value as a result.

Based on your question, I assume they were not approved but again, falsely applying (filling out the paperwork with false information) or attempting to fradualantly obtain anything of value would be a crime.

As far as the police department picking her up, they could file criminal charges and probably should...BUT...if they are like most police departments they will not view it as serious, especially since it was her exhusband. The police don't like to get involved as what they perceive as domestic disputes/thefts. I suspect their decision to file charges will depend on how much pressure the ex puts on them to do so.

But you need to also be aware that the real victim is the company/bank that she tried to get the credit from. They may want the police to file charges and have her prosecuted.With them pressing to file charges the police would view things differently and in all likelyhood would file charges. Hope this helps.