Too Bad I Take Things Seriously-Chapter 458 - 197 Borrowing Money Turned into Fraud!_3
Ma Ming spoke earnestly, "This time, I’d like to ask Lawyer Shi for another favor. I want to sue Meng Lei again."
Shi Liangping was taken aback.
He then asked, "You’re not still trying to sue for the debt, are you? You can’t bring the same suit twice. If you try to sue again, the court won’t accept it."
The Law of Civil Procedure clearly states that a defendant in a case where a judgment or ruling has already taken legal effect cannot be sued or tried again for the same matter. The judgment had been handed down. If Ma Ming were to sue again over eighteen yuan, the court would not accept the case. The critical issue now was enforcing the judgment.
"That’s not what I’m suing for." Ma Ming shook his head, clarifying his intentions. "I want to sue for fraud."
Shi Liangping was taken aback again. He couldn’t help but ask, "Fraud?"
"Yes," Ma Ming said seriously. "A year ago, he borrowed eighteen yuan from me, saying he would pay it back the next day. A year has passed, and he still hasn’t repaid it. This is clearly a case of him deceiving me by fabricating facts. His actions constitute the crime of fraud."
Upon hearing this, Shi Liangping’s eyelids twitched, and he couldn’t help but swallow.
Ma Ming had meticulously argued his case, covering all the subjective and objective elements, the constituent elements of the crime, and the intent of unlawful possession. He was logical and well-founded.
This angle for a lawsuit... He had never considered it before.
After being stunned for more than ten seconds, Shi Liangping slowly raised his head. He said somberly, "The elements you’ve described do indeed meet the criteria for a fraud conviction, but... he only owes you eighteen yuan. That doesn’t even meet the threshold for filing a case."
According to criminal law, the minimum amount for filing a fraud case is three thousand yuan. This threshold can be adjusted upwards depending on the economic development level of different regions. In some areas, the minimum is ten thousand yuan.
Eighteen yuan... That’s simply too little.
"Who says he only owes eighteen?" Ma Ming snorted coldly, tossing over an account statement. These statements, which he had prepared overnight, clearly listed the approximate dates Meng Lei borrowed money, the reasons for the loans, and the amounts.
The total amount was 43,621 yuan!
HISS!!
Looking at the account statements before him, Shi Liangping involuntarily gasped, his body trembling slightly.
If these were included... they would definitely meet the standard for filing a case. Fraud might actually be a viable charge!
Fraud is a property crime, and the severity of the sentence depends on the amount defrauded. The larger the amount swindled, the heavier the sentence.
"I also have notarized authorization letters from my classmates who couldn’t be present..."
Immediately, Ma Ming adeptly produced a stack of authorization letters.
Seeing this, Shi Liangping looked at Ma Ming deeply. His intuition told him that Ma Ming was no ordinary man. As a lawyer, people usually came to him for professional legal advice. But when Ma Ming came... it was almost as if *he* was the one offering advice, making Shi Liangping feel like a mere tool in the process. All he needed to do was help file the lawsuit and appear in court.
「Two days later.」
In Yangcheng, inside a certain residential complex, Meng Lei lay comfortably at home after resigning. He wasn’t in a rush to find a job, planning instead to first enjoy a few days of leisure. In the years since graduation, he had switched between no less than ten different jobs in an effort to make more money, working each for varying lengths of time.
Huh? Why are so many people @ing me in the group?
Suddenly, he saw messages popping up in the company’s main group chat on his phone.
"@Meng Lei, you don’t reply to messages or answer calls! Dammit, pay back the money!"
"He borrowed money from you too? This guy borrowed three hundred yuan from me, then suddenly quit without a word."
"HOLY CRAP! He said his grandfather had passed away, and I just lent him nine thousand yuan! That’s a month’s salary for me!"
"@Meng Lei, before you resigned, shouldn’t you have at least paid back what you owed us?"
"..."
In the main group chat, his former colleagues were "warmly" greeting him, expressing their "deep concern," and "hoping" he would visit the company often when he had time. They also condemned his unannounced departure.
Meng Lei’s mouth twitched as he watched this unfold. He had only just resigned, and the group administrator hadn’t kicked him out of the main chat yet. And these colleagues... unable to find him in person, had resorted to calling him out in the company’s main group chat.
I can’t believe I forgot to leave the group myself. He furrowed his brow, seriously reflecting on his oversight.
Then, he directly opened the main group chat and chose to exit, ignoring the hubbub within.
He retreated, concealing his deeds and reputation.
Now that he had resigned, nothing related to the company was his business anymore. This little drama... he had been through it many times before and had long grown accustomed to it.
RING RING—
Suddenly, his phone rang. It was Tian Shulan.
"Hello? Meng Lei, I’m out shopping with my bestie today. If it gets too late, I won’t come back tonight. I’ve already ordered takeout for you."
On the phone, Tian Shulan quickly explained, then hung up before he could even speak.
BEEP BEEP BEEP—
Listening to the busy tone, Meng Lei couldn’t help but frown, feeling that something was amiss.
Over the past few days, the way Tian Shulan addressed him had noticeably changed. It used to be "hubby" this and "hubby" that, but now she just called him by his name. She used to cook dinner at home and do housework every night, but lately, she was always finding reasons to go out. He had no idea what she was busy with all day. When he called to ask, Tian Shulan would either say she was shopping with her best friend or at a class reunion. Even when she did come home at night, she seemed lethargic and sleepy.
His male intuition told him there might be a problem.
