Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

I got a telephone call from a process server stating that I have a criminal charges of fraud and intent to commit fraud filed in my county and he needs to serve me.

He told me before he could serve me or open the summons I needed to be aware of the charges against me and to call (888) 650-787 with a case number.

I called the number and they asked me a few questions they told me my ssn and that this was a moneymart debt, from 2003 they sounded all professional.

So what is the law, is this legal.


Asked on 10/11/12, 2:20 pm

4 Answers from Attorneys
Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

Totally illegal. Process servers aren't involved in criminal cases unless they're serving subpoena's on you for a trial. If you had criminal charges, you would either get a notice to appear in the mail or you would be arrested by law enforcement.

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Answered on 10/11/12, 2:42 pm
Theresa Hofmeister Theresa Hofmeister, Attorney At Law

Also technically a civil question. Repost in the Civil category if you need more info. But yes, definitely some type of hokey scan. Ignore with impunity. (You can happily ignore these people) Good luck!

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Answered on 10/11/12, 4:01 pm
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Criminal charges are not 'served' by process servers. They serve people with civil case Summons. You've been sued. You can either try to run and hide for a while, or deal with it properly. Tell him to bring you the papers, then defend the case. Hiding will simply get you a default judgment against you.

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Answered on 10/11/12, 4:41 pm
Zadik Shapiro Law Offices of C. Zadik Shapiro

In addition to my colleagues comments it is probably well beyond the statute of limitations and can be ignored for that reason.

It is against Federal and State law to falsely assert that you have criminal charges pending in order to collect a debt. You can report them to the Federal Trade Commission and the California Attorney General. Contact information for both can be found on line.

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Answered on 10/11/12, 5:15 pm


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