A hapless man from Virginia is now worried about his credit score and finances after his “friend” and roommate asked for his help for a loan, only to siphon a total of $25,000 from his bank account. Now, the man is asking for some advice on how to proceed because it appears his roommate either doesn’t want to pay up or simply couldn’t.
The incident happened back in May to Reddit user and military personnel, ArmseyZ, who posted his woes to a subreddit asking for legal advice. Initially, ArmseyZ’s roommate only asked for $3,800 loan so that he could start a small business.
ArmseyZ, being a good roommate, obliged, but the bank apps were blocking the transfers since the amount was large. So, ArmseyZ did the unthinkable and simply gave his roommate all his bank login details so the roommate could wire the amount because, for some reason, he didn’t want to wire it himself. Here’s the post:
It appears it didn’t take long before the roommate started abusing the trust and power he was given and quickly added himself as an authorized user on ArmseyZ’s bank account. The roommate also added a credit card to his name, all without permission. Then, the incremental purchases began, and before ArmseyZ knew it, his roommate had spent $25,000 of his money, with $19,000 of that being spent in the first 24 hours.
“He has probably in total paid back about 1600. But every time I ask for more payment I get left on delivered. I tried to get him to sign a contract I drafted on some free contract site. He never signed it. I don’t know the first thing about legal stuff and I’m low on funds as it is so I don’t want to go speak to a lawyer that charges 300 dollars an hour,” recalls ArmseyZ
At this point, it appears ArmseyZ is more concerned about getting his money back rather than going full scorched earth on his Virginia roommate. It’s also worth noting that ArmseyZ was in military deployment while this “theft” took place, which could explain why the exchange happened digitally.
Lawyers Didn’t Mince Words
Thankfully, plenty of lawyers have chimed in on the post and have advised ArmseyZ to seek legal help immediately or a police report. Some even wondered how it took him so long to actually seek legal advice after the incident, though being in deployment certainly limited his avenues.
“Why haven’t you reported this to the police? This is theft. Plain and simple. You need to file a police report today. I’m certain the navy also has free legal help for enlisted individuals – I’d start here,” said dadwillsue
However, others also worried that some of the court’s rulings could be in the roommate’s favor since ArmseyZ notably and willingly gave his bank login details. It’s just that he didn’t expect his roommate to splurge using his money, and this could still be a strong fraud case. With that said, ArmseyZ might have to prove that it wasn’t he who spent that kind of money in such a short time.
Sadly, some people couldn’t help but question ArmseyZ’s judgment because he basically gave the most important information in his life to someone who barely qualifies as a friend.
“I need friends this stupid,” jokes stickyscooter600
“Can I understand – why did you give him your bank login details instead of wiring him yourself?” asks Doktag
“Not sure why all these commenters are saying there is nothing to be done. Dude committed straight up fraud. Doesn’t matter that OP gave him the login. Stupid, yeah, but does not absolve his roommate from crimes,” argues Weekly_Bug_4847
