“Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t”…remember that advertisement? I’ve been watching the Press coverage of the CoinNuts mess. And now, finally, the Prosecutor is going to step up and take action.
What do you think? Anything else on your mind on this almost-Spring Monday?
Criminal prosecution and conviction gives only fleeting satisfaction, and it rarely results in the victims recovering more than a small percentage of their financial losses. Given the really incomplete news reporting on the details of the transactions between Mitchell and his client/victims, it’s pretty difficult for us to evaluate the potential for successful prosecution. If Mitchell’s client/victims entered into contracts they didn’t understand and had made no effort to have evaluated and explained to them by their attorney, and if those contracts were lawful in Idaho, then their chances of civil recovery or successful criminal prosecution drops.
We have predators in CdA who have lived here all their lives who are successfully manipulating Idaho’s grossly outdated and inadequate laws for their own personal political or financial gain. Some of the manipulators serve in the Idaho Legislature, so there is little hope for relief there, yet that is where relief must start.
Comment by Bill — March 18, 2013 @ 5:07 pm
Bill, I believe that one man has received a civil judgement in his favor. Good luck collecting it. Mitchell does have a pattern of scamming people. You are correct about the contracts, however he has written many NSF checks and refused to deliver the merchandise. This is a pattern of repeated behavior which I believe shows a pattern of intent to defraud. I can’t believe that any contract said the seller had the right to not deliver the merchandise and could still keep the money. That being said, who writes a check for $50,000. without having the merchandise in hand. Baffling!
Comment by rochereau — March 18, 2013 @ 5:53 pm
rochereau,
The biggest bugaboo the investigators face is identifying, preserving, and presenting evidence of criminal intent to steal by deceit. The seeming lack of criminal intent, incidentally, is also the device quite often used by lazy and inept prosecutors to decline prosecution.
Comment by Bill — March 18, 2013 @ 7:34 pm
That pretty much sums up McHugh doesn’t it. Pattern of behavior is generally evidence of criminal intent. To say nothing of the amorphous merchandise. Only in CDA 🙂
Comment by rochereau — March 19, 2013 @ 9:40 am