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I'm grasping at straws here but was hopeful that you knowledgeable people might be able to give me more leverage!
I live in a high cost of living area and am unfortunately only able to afford to live with roommates. One of my roommates is fantastic but we didn't get along with the last roommate - so she moved and broke the lease to be closer to work. She gave us a month's notice and forfeited her last month's rent so there were no problems with the landlord.
We found a new roommate at the end of last November who seemed great - had a good job (making more than twice what my other roommate and I make based on the forms he gave us to have the landlord vet him), no student loans, no car payments, nada. He went to college in the US but was a UK citizen and is here on a work visa.
Things started to go awry in January when his rent check bounced. He claimed that his work paid his rent and kept coming up with excuses about why it bounced. Eventually, he paid in cash toward the end of the month. The same thing happened this month with Feb's rent. The landlord alerted my other roommate and I on Monday and told us that our 3rd roommate wasn't responding to emails and phone calls. On Tuesday, we got an email from the British roommate that he was in NYC for the week for job interviews (we talked to him on Sunday night about our plans for the week and he didn't even mention that he was hopping on a bus in the morning to NYC for the week!), had been hired, and would be moving to NYC by the end of the month. And that he wasn't able to pay this month's rent because of "tax reasons" but that his last month's rent "should cover it".
Not only is he breaking the lease, but he gave us two weeks to find a replacement in a particularly hard time of year to find roommates in Boston.
Luckily, our landlord is spectacular and is so sick of this guy that he's offered to waive his share of next month's rent if we can't find a replacement. We are NOT telling our roommate that. When the landlord sent us a copy of the bounced check, the name on the check was not our roommate's. When we called him on it, he said something about how he goes by the "anglicized version" of his name. Doing a little poking showed that the name on the check was an 80 year old woman in Ohio, and that he also seems to go by her husband's name in other places. We are trying to contact her to see if it's maybe some misunderstanding (he briefly lived in the same city as her) or if he has tried to steal her identity/checkbook.
My question is - what can we do legally with regards to his breaking the lease, his visa, and the potential identity theft? We have taken precautions with all of our checkbooks and important paperwork and have just sucked up the fact that we'll have to pay his share of utilities (including a very expensive oil bill) - but he is coming home tonight and we are going to confront him and want to know what leg we have to stand on. We KNOW he has the money, he just doesn't want to part with it and since he doesn't use US credit, it's hard to cause a blemish on his account.
Who can we even report him to? Breaking the lease is bad enough, but if he's writing bad checks and defrauding someone else, that's a whole other kettle of fish that I'm not sure how to handle - particularly regarding his legal status.
We're just ready for this to be over with, but we want to protect ourselves and anyone else who might fall for his seeming good nature and responsibility.
This is a little difficult to put together because he can't be both a Green Card holder (a permanent resident alien) and be working in the US on a visa. It's one or the other.
Secondly, your situation with him has nothing to do with his immigration status, whatever it is. As much as I understand your concerns that he may be defrauding others, your only move in this direction would be to possibly suggest to your LL that he contact the AG's office in the appropriate Ohio district and let them know his suspicions about the check that was given to him (provided of course he still has it or a copy of it).
As far as your possibly being out of a share of a utility bill you can, if he doesn't settle up with you, file in small claims court to recoup his portion. You cannot claim rent from him because you cannot prove that he owes rent given the fact that the LL is not planning on charging you for his portion of at least one month's rent. You'll find these sorts of questions answered on the Renting forum. Good luck.
Doing a little poking showed that the name on the check was an 80 year old woman in Ohio, and that he also seems to go by her husband's name in other places. We are trying to contact her to see if it's maybe some misunderstanding (he briefly lived in the same city as her) or if he has tried to steal her identity/checkbook.
You are trying to contact her? How about you go to the police and have them contact her. They could probably get it done a lot faster than you can. They can also do a search to see if this woman and her husband are still alive or if they have passed away.
You have the bounced check which doesnt even have his name on it so I dont understand why you are unwilling to go to the police with it, especially if the check has another persons name on it. The name that should be on the check is the name that is on his work visa.
Please go to the police, Boston should have some sort of department within its police department that handles stuff like looking into identity theft, fraud, ect.
^^^ This is really nothing to do with the OP because the cheque in question wasn't made out to him/her but to the landlord. It sounds that although the roommates split the total rent between them, each pays his/her portion directly to the LL.
You don't need to concern yourself with his immigration status, and that you are makes it look like you are trying to blackmail the guy. He sounds like trouble, and getting too wrapped up in his problems is going to be nothing but bad news for you. If you really want to protect yourself, have as little to do with him and his affairs as possible.
If you think it's safe to do so, confront him, tell him what he owes, and possibly ask him to explain the names on the check.
If talking to him doesn't clear things up, then you have other options:
If he owes you money on contract, you take him to court to honor the contract. If he owes your LL money on contract, it's the LL's responsibility to take him to court to honor the contract. If all this is based on hearsay or informal agreements, then you are SOL and you suck it up and learn your lesson.
If you suspect he's stealing someone else's identity, the onus is on that person to report him to the police. You can be a Good Samaritan by trying to alert the interested party. If you can't reach her, leave her a message and then wash your hands of it.
I know Northeasterners like to stick their noses in other people's business, but you need to identify the limits of what this guy owes you personally and let other people deal with his other problems. Do this now before the situation gets any uglier.
Thanks, STTResident and NDSUBison! I know the story sounds convoluted - the more I talk about it to other people, the more I think he's spinning tales because nothing adds up. Not to mention this comes out of the blue. He replaced my old roommate to finish the last two months of the lease in November, and then SIGNED A NEW LEASE for Feb 1. Less than 2 weeks later, he's leaving with absolutely no warning without giving us signs that he was considering leaving. My head is still spinning. I've had bad roommates in the past but nothing that could potentially put me in such financial jeopardy as this.
He is working, but he's used all kinds of terms to refer to his legal status. We are jointly and separately responsible for the rent (generally split the rent 3 ways and each give the landlord a separate check) and the utilities are all in my or the remaining roommates' name - plus we pay for oil as we go in cash. When we got this roommate, we were responsible for vetting him as a compatible person who wouldn't smoke, destroy the house, etc but the landlord supposedly called his work, did a background and credit check, looked at his bank statements, etc. Now my remaining roommate and I think that wasn't the case (and perhaps partially why he's being so incredibly generous with us for next month).
The landlord has been alerted about the suspected fraud. The LL's take on everything is he didn't care where the money was coming from as long as he got it. He DOES plan on informing the cops on the grounds that there were two bad checks on closed accounts using a different name, but he wants to make sure that the roommate is safely out of the house and the locks changed so not to worry about damage to the house or our property. The only reason I am trying to get in contact with the person on the check is because one of my college roommates is currently a rabbinical intern at a neighboring temple to the one the family belongs to (based on web searches). We're just hoping it's some kind of misunderstanding and I would really like to get confirmation that maybe they have a British nephew or grandson who visits and they help out from time to time before we go running to the police with him still in the house.
We don't have locks on our doors so while all of our important paperwork is now stored elsewhere and we are hiding as many valuables as possible, it's impossible to hide a desktop computer for instance. We have at least another week of him in the house to contend with.
I admit, I ask about breaking the lease possibly being held against his legal status because I'm feeling very vindictive about the whole situation. I'm slowly clawing my way out of cancer debt and am so close that I can taste it - but even just taking on his share of the utilities for a month (particularly with an oil bill that will now be $300 a person versus $200 if split 3 ways) is going to set me back and the stress is really not good for my health. It's so unbelievable to me that someone can sign a lease and then expect no ramifications to breaking it! If we had a different landlord, we could have been held liable for the rent next month which I financially would not have been able to do and that would damage my credit further. This whole thing has also tarnished our relationship with a really good landlord in a really great space.
You don't need to concern yourself with his immigration status, and that you are makes it look like you are trying to blackmail the guy. He sounds like trouble, and getting too wrapped up in his problems is going to be nothing but bad news for you. If you really want to protect yourself, have as little to do with him and his affairs as possible.
If you think it's safe to do so, confront him, tell him what he owes, and possibly ask him to explain the names on the check.
If talking to him doesn't clear things up, then you have other options:
If he owes you money on contract, you take him to court to honor the contract. If he owes your LL money on contract, it's the LL's responsibility to take him to court to honor the contract. If all this is based on hearsay or informal agreements, then you are SOL and you suck it up and learn your lesson.
If you suspect he's stealing someone else's identity, the onus is on that person to report him to the police. You can be a Good Samaritan by trying to alert the interested party. If you can't reach her, leave her a message and then wash your hands of it.
I know Northeasterners like to stick their noses in other people's business, but you need to identify the limits of what this guy owes you personally and let other people deal with his other problems. Do this now before the situation gets any uglier.
I'm actually a Southerner (grew up in rural Georgia) who now lives in New England, but thanks for the stereotype! You're damn right I'm going to stick my nose in his business - I feel very violated and kind of afraid. Not for my physical safety or anything, but this person is living in my house will full access to my stuff, my cat, could probably hack my computer passwords if he tried... The fact that he's probably been lying for the 3 months we've lived with him is really scary! On Sunday night, the three of us watched a movie, had dinner together, and drank a few beers and he didn't mention once that he was interviewing and considering moving soon. It might be a different situation if we had a deteriorating relationship, but from Tuesday on things have completely unraveled.
It's hard to just leave the situation alone as long as he is in the house. He is contractually obligated for 1/3 rent on the lease but the other two of us are equally obligated if he runs out on the lease. Even if he was not on the lease, Mass law states that he needs to give 30 days notice (or at least pay out the 30 days). He's contractually obligated to 1/3 of utilities on a "roommate addendum" that my landlord has also signed.
Everything's been said that really needs to be said and best you not "confront" him antagonistically but simply sit down quietly and get the money issues sorted out. I suggest you don't bring up the bounced cheque unless in reference to what he owes. Leave anything accusatory out of it all. You only have one more week of him being there and obviously you don't want that last week to be fraught with any more tension than that which already exists on the part of you and your other roommate. It may simply boil down to the fact that he's just not a good communicator. Stay out of anything that has nothing to do with the money owed to you and let the landlord deal with what's applicable on his end. Good luck.
Wow, what a mess, so sorry you're going through this. Can you have this thread moved to the rental forum, or copy your OP and repost? They're great over there and might have some advice for you. Sorry I dont, BUT, if I were the 80 year old and being scammed, I'd love a heads up. Therefore, I agree with you trying to sort this out and alert her and her hubby. I'm wondering if she or he is passed though. I in no way see this as sticking your nose in someones business, but helping out someone in need. Good for you for trying.
Good luck and congrats on beating cancer. Hope this stress doesnt harm you, and please keep us updated.
^^^ This is really nothing to do with the OP because the cheque in question wasn't made out to him/her but to the landlord. It sounds that although the roommates split the total rent between them, each pays his/her portion directly to the LL.
So the OP should not report a crime so long as it doesnt involve the OP?
I dont understand why someone would not report someone who they believe could be a criminal.
Maybe its because I have been a victim of identity theft that I feel like this however I dont know. If I saw someone run another person over I would report it, or if I saw someone drinking and driving I would report them as well.
The whole turn your head aside because you are not directly involved philosophy just doesnt seem right to me.
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