So good honest question:
Do you think that the family is going to be either sued or downright prosecuted for fraud? And if so, do you think that the law/whoever is going to wait until Jahi's heart stops beating or would they be able to do it now just based on her own instagram evidence of getting brand name bags and shoes and going to Ruth's Chris Steak House and other places?
Let's say
- on the sidewalk, I encounter a panhandler asking for money to buy food for him to eat,
- I hand him a single, a five, a ten, twenty or hundred $,
- he goes into the liquor store to buy rotgot or down the block to his dope dealer,
- uses the $ for purposes other than food,
-has panhandler committed fraud?
If he asks for and receives money like this from 500 ppl, gets $100 from ea and uses something other than food, has he committed fraud?
1000 ppl? 10,000 ppl?
If so, what is the remedy?
Legal system - individual donors suing him in
civil fraud action?
(Any private practice atty's ready to file this? Worthwhile - for atty or clients -on hourly rate, flat fee, contingency fee? Doubtful)
County prosecutor bringing
criminal fraud charge against him, possibly leading to incarceration?
Prosecutors have limited budget and employees.
An asst prosecutor explained his thoughts about charge-or-no-charge decisions this way.
Yes, there may have been or there was misrepresentation, maybe fraud, but the county can't prosecute everything.
Ppl who gave panhandler $ were
not coerced to do so and were not assaulted or injured.
When ppl give $ like this to an individual - a panhandler or Jahi's mom or others at personal funding sites,
Do ppl have a legal basis for expecting/relying on panhandler to buy food to eat, rather than to use for something else?
County budget & staff-power is more wisely used to prosecute -
- an armed robber who knocked a man unconscious in parking lot and ran off w $1000 from his wallet.
- a pair of teen thugs who knocked a little old lady to the ground at an ATM for her $300 withdrawal.
Those two
victims suffered physical injury and did not willingly choose to part w the money.
Not saying sidewalk panhandling is a perfect corollary to Jahi's mom's actions.
Hoping not to offend but just repeating someone else's thoughts and reasoning on the subject.
Not saying this would be the thinking of any other prosecutors.