Karen Lodrick's mail had been stolen in November 2006 by a neighborhood con named Maria Nelson. Nelson subsequently withdrew thousands of dollars from Lodrick's bank accounts. Even after Lodrick created another bank account, the thief again stole her mail and raided the new account.
(Photo: Getty Images)
The only letdown in this story is, of course, when the justice system gets involved. Despite chastising the convict, who was indeed on probation, for rudeness toward the victim in court, the judge sentenced Nelson only to time served and another three years of probation. Lodrick, needless to say, is pretty pissed. —BRIAN FAIRBANKS
How victim snared identity thief [SF Gate]
]]>that being said, Im with the above, I'd have beaten the hell out of the person. and paid the assault charges. it would be cheaper and more satisfying.
]]>I realize this is a story about personal heroics and/or the justice system gone wrong...BUT, she put herself in potential danger and possibly misused a resource for *emergencies*.
Hope no one having a heart attack got a busy signal dialing 911!
]]>You buy a special effects kit, make yourself an awesome true-to-life mask, gloves on the hands, and a common gun, and blow the asshole away, then just dump everything into the airport incinerator...
Viola.....
By the way....police generally NEVER find the killer, in such a proper murder....
Going into a browns chicken and blowing everyone away is different...
The reason why people like Maria Nelson need to be locked up is the overwhelming temptation to committ the same crime again. It's also important to note that because of the sensitivity of identity theft, what's to stop a criminal from doing physical damage to the victim or their property?
The sentencing was overly-lenient considering the fact that the criminal was already on probation, violating her probation, and violating federal law. I'm also interested to know if Nelson has any history with violent crime.
]]>I suppose, if repaying her debt would actually be impossible any other way, then yeah, lock her up and have her start pounding license plates for minimum wage. If we (the law abiding citizens) are going to pay to lock her up, then I wanna get something for it. License plates will do. But, then again, wait. I have to pay for those anyway, don't I? Yeah, that shouldn't happen.
But I digress...
See, locking up a violent offender buys me (a law abiding citizen) something. It buys me physical safety, and that's worth paying for. One less murderer or rapist on the street? Sounds great. Sign me up. What do I owe you?
That's physical safety. But, financial safety, I wouldn't have to buy (with jail funding) if the state just had my back when I needed it. As in, garnish the wages of anyone who steals from me. It seems logical enough.
But again, I'm not from California. I really didn't even know this was a discussion at all. I just did my best to answer a question on the table.
And, if I'm allowed to digress again, jail costs entirely too much anyway. I don't understand why jails have to be so big. Why is there a cafeteria? Why is there a yard? Jails should be built like the storage facilities they are, not like motels. Space efficient, and secure. That's all a jail needs to be. Period.
]]>I think placing the thief under citizen arrest would have been lawful.
]]>But, like I said, I don't know the real answer. I'm just makin' this up as I go.
]]>So California liberals, why is it that you keep trying to avoid sentencing non-violent criminals to incarceration?
]]>With that being said ROFLMAO!
]]>After all, we need to show compassion and understanding to the identity thief. It's not fair that someone else is making more money than her. Really, it all came down to the identity thief's terrible childhood.
]]>Good luck suing a scam artist like that. She's probably indigent even with all those thefts.
]]>Can the victim pursue civil charges?
]]>I think the only way for the justice system to start treating identity thieves, equity strippers, and predatory lenders like the criminals they are is to start enforcing criminal laws against those actions (if they exist in your state) in the ways they were intended to be enforced.
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