Hello,

I live in Canada, and recently I was caught stealing money from work. Basically, I was creating false invoices for returned cores (At an auto parts store). The invoices ranged from $60 to $250, and I did this on somewhere between 20 and 30 separate occasions.

I also have a charge account at the store (It is a small store with 4 employees at any given time) and I have an account balance of about $7000. So the owner of the store told me today that if I pay out $1000 by the end of today that they would not contact the RCMP, and they want my account paid off in full within 1 week. They are also attempting to find all occurrences of these falsified invoices, and they have told me that they will add these on to my account.

I am fine with this, as long as I am able to get a personal loan (which I am trying to do tomorrow) and make this go away, however my chances aren't too great as I am only 20 years old.

Now here is my question: If I am unable to pay the said amount, I am told that they will involve the RCMP, as well as sue me for the money owing on my account. Now if they involve the RCMP what will happen? Will I be charged with one count of theft under $5000, or 20+ counts (or however many instances they find). Or am I looking at fraud charges? What kind of penalties am I looking at, keeping in mind that this would be my first crime ever? Most of the invoices were paid out in cash; however there were a few that were placed onto my debit card. Is there anyway they can prove that I am responsible for the cash invoices, or would they only be able to charge me for the ones I returned on my debit card?

Also on a side note, if they do happen to involve the police and justice systems, I will not be able to afford an attorney and I have no-one else to assist me in paying for one either. Is there anyway I can get an attorney for free, or very minimal cost?

Thank-You in advance!

Feel free to ask about any details.

No one can give me any advice? Lawyer is still out of the question for me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dawiz

Lawyer is still out of the question for me.

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Hello D:

Then pack your toothbrush.

excon

Sometimes a post slips through the cracks, sorry about that.

Since its been a month since your original post, you really need to update the situation. Did you pay off or are they going to prosecute.

If they do prosecute, then I doubt if you can get a diversion consider this was not a one time indiscretion. This was a premediated attempt to defraud the store. I'm afraid you may very well be facing jail time. You need an attorney, even if it's a govt appointed one.

Nothing has really changed in my situation. It has pretty much been at a standstill. I am pretty sure I'm looking at jail time. How do I go about getting a government appointed attorney?

Look for a legal aid service.