Testimonial

Hey everyone,

I just got subpoenaed to testify in court regarding some shady stuff my old boss was doing. I was technically working there through a temp agency about 10 years ago... but here's the kicker: my buddy was actually the one doing the work under my name because back then, you could only get hired through those student agencies. Everyone was cutting corners like that back then, and I honestly never dreamed it would come back to haunt me like this.

The hearing is in a month and a half, so I really need to figure out my next move before then. Anyone got any actual, helpful advice?...

Thanks a ton.

William Adams4 said:Hey everyone,

I just got subpoenaed to testify in court regarding some shady stuff my old boss was doing. I was technically working there through a temp agency about 10 years ago... but here's the kicker: my buddy was actually the one doing the work under my name because back then, you could only get hired through those student agencies. Everyone was cutting corners like that back then, and I honestly never dreamed it would come back to haunt me like this.

The hearing is in a month and a half, so I really need to figure out my next move before then. Anyone got any actual, helpful advice?...

Thanks a ton.

The both of you should just show up to the hearing..
In your testimony, you'll explain that it wasn't actually you working at the time, but rather your friend, and that you had informed him about this entire process. He can simply accompany you to court and wait in the hallway, which means there is a distinct possibility he could be called in immediately to provide his own statement regarding the circumstances.
(The hearing isn't going to be postponed; you did the right thing—both for your friend then, and for the court now 😉).

Given that ten years have passed since then, feel free to explain the reasoning behind this little "identity swap" of yours.

brighteagle24 gave you the best advice possible. Please, for everyone's sake, don't go trying to get creative or mix things up; you'll only end up tangling yourself in a knot, and then you might actually find yourselves being the ones at fault.🤷

Wait, didn't we basically commit identity fraud there? I know everyone was just looking the other way back then because it was so common, but man... we could still get hit with legal trouble for this...

Even if we assume they committed a crime—fraud, specifically, involving various accomplices—I’ll say this again: feel free to share the details. You mentioned it’s been ten years since the incident, which means the statute of limitations has already run out.

Besides, I have no way of knowing if your friend was ever in direct contact with the defendant, or if he even had the chance to meet them personally the way you did. If that's the case, once you testify, he’ll likely just tell the judge himself that it wasn't him. Denying it would be pointless; you'd only end up digging yourself into a hole.

The risk of facing serious consequences for perjury—which is a crime you’d actually be committing right now and could cause massive legal damage—is significantly higher than the risk of being caught for some fraud you committed ten years ago that resulted in zero actual harm.🤷

Are we even sure the statute of limitations has run out?

I've been called in to testify for one crime where the clock definitely hasn't run out—otherwise, there wouldn't even be a trial—so it feels totally surreal that the statute of limitations would have expired for this other thing my buddy and I did.

Wouldn't it just be way easier to just say I don't remember anything?

William Adams4 said:Are we even sure the statute of limitations has run out?

I've been called in to testify for one crime where the clock definitely hasn't run out—otherwise, there wouldn't even be a trial—so it feels totally surreal that the statute of limitations would have expired for this other thing my buddy and I did.

Wouldn't it just be way easier to just say I don't remember anything?

🤦

- For you, the statute of limitations on prosecution might have expired; fraud carries a five-year sentence, and the clock runs based on the maximum penalty...
- Regarding this specific offense, it could be classified as an economic crime, which changes things—it isn't just about the statute of limitations on prosecution if proceedings were initiated before it lapsed; now we're looking at the absolute statute of limitations. It might be getting close, or perhaps not. Which specific charge are we talking about? Does your summons cite a particular section of the Penal Code?

Why don't you just head down to a local law firm and get some actual legal counsel? We can sit here and go in circles forever, but that won't change much.

IBM hasn't published an article on this yet.

I just want to make sure you actually stand behind what you're saying... 🙂 I'm gonna run this by my lawyer regardless.

Thanks 👍

In any case, I’d strongly suggest you sit down with an attorney and lay absolutely everything out on the table. If they aren't working with the full picture—much like the incomplete information we're mostly dealing with here—you could easily run into some unexpected headaches down the road. Best of luck.👍