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Getting Sued For $70,000 (With Zero Assets or Funds)

Kak

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3) Should my friend communicate to the suers that he has no $, so it might make them realise that they're wasting their time going after someone with no $?
People are careful about tossing legal advice around because they can get sued too.

He hasn’t been sued yet. If the pissed off person actually follows through with it... Then is he being sued.

Lawyers will probably tell him he is throwing good money after bad on this one.

None of this was legal advice. Just ignorant commentary.
 

Esquire

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I used to be a bankruptcy attorney back in the day ... here are my thoughts:

Getting a judgment is easy.

Collecting on the other hand ... now that's the bitch.

There is nothing more futile and counterproductive than suing a broke defendant.

Not only are you out the cost of whatever you lost ... now you get to lump in the cost of your legal fees on top of it.

More salt in the wound ...

Worse yet ... even if you go the distance and take the case all the way to judgment ... odds are the defendant will file for bankruptcy before you collect a single cent - at which point you're beyond F*cked.

Even without bankruptcy ... a debt like this would never get paid. Most or all of his income and assets are likely exempt from execution under state law anyway.

F*cked with a capital F.

Their only real hope of collecting is that this guy doesn't know any better and borrows the money from a relative. And some people will. Because they don't appreciate the true predicament the other side is in.

Debt collectors are all bark, no bite.

Even when a creditor serves you will legal papers often they have no real intent of following though. Just another scare tactic.

So my thinking ... me personally ... I'd tell them I was contemplating bankruptcy then cut off communication. That typically puts an end to it. Or better yet, hire a BK attorney and refer them over to him. Doesn't cost much. That almost always kills it right there. Even if you don't ultimately follow through. There is nothing that will kill a debt collectors boner faster than a bankruptcy attorney.

Trust me ... I know. I've killed more boners than you can shake a stick at (pun intended).

When the BK attorney shows up ... they are beyond F*cked and they know it. Time to move on ...

On the flip side ... keep this all in mind when you conduct your own deals. If you do business with a judgment proof debtor ... you're spinning the chambers. Assume if the deal goes south you'll never see a dime ... because odds are you never will.

So what do I do in my law practice ...?

I always make sure that the client who hires me has reliable income, substantial assets and is collectable. And most importantly - I get my money up front. If I have any doubts about their ability to pay, I take a pass or, in the alternative, if their parents, spouse or significant other is collectable - I have them co-sign the debt. All of which means ... my collection rate is near 100 percent.

But I digress ...

Long story short .... I think your guy wil be fine.

Cheers
 
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Last edited:

Lucky Lu

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Long story short, my friend was an affiliate marketer for a crypto investment product.

The crypto product ended up being a scam where thousands of people lost all of their money (like BitConnect).

My friend also lost all of his money as he didn't realise it was a scam.

One of the people that my friend referred to join the investment lost $70,000 and is now threatening legal action (w/a law firm) against my friend if he doesn't pay the $70,000.

They seem to be confident that they would win in court based on my friend promoting a financial product to them without a financial license.

(The owners of the crypto investment scam ran off and can't be found by anyone as they used fake names, etc..).

The problem is that my friend has no income, savings, or assets. He's young.

He can't afford to pay $70,000 like the person is wanting from them.

1) How would legal fees cost if my friend has no money to go to court?

2) Hypothetically if the other side wins (which my friend says they won't) - How would he deal with paying $70,000 when he has no income, savings, or assets?

3) Should my friend communicate to the suers that he has no $, so it might make them realise that they're wasting their time going after someone with no $?
Well more information and details are needed in order to correctly analyze the scenario buy going after someone with no assets at all is almost always fruitless for the claimant. Waiting for the "poor" defendant to improve his financial situation after a judgement is by far a long shot and filing for bankrupcy is always an option fo the debtor in most jurisdictions. (Where is your friend from?).

If he needs to defend himself and has no financial means to do so he will need to either go to a legal clinic (they take cases for people with no means to pay) or get a lawyer to defend his case "pro bono". (State Bars require their members to take cases pro bono, sometimes referring them randomly or asking for lawyers and law firms to file certain amount of pro bono hours per year).
Being sued with a somber forecast is not a great scenario, but being sued with no assets whatsoever is a little better, as a leverage to negotiate and also to have a little less pressure about the actual outcome.

If no criminal charges are filed, for a civil suit there is no risk of dire consequences other than a judgement that forces him to pay the money plus possibly lawyer fees and costs, but again, with no assets would be still rock bottom, right?

Non of this must be taken as legal advise or opinion, it is just a light overview from the little information we have so far.
 
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GetShitDone

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Long story short, my friend was an affiliate marketer for a crypto investment product.

The crypto product ended up being a scam where thousands of people lost all of their money (like BitConnect).

My friend also lost all of his money as he didn't realise it was a scam.

One of the people that my friend referred to join the investment lost $70,000 and is now threatening legal action (w/a law firm) against my friend if he doesn't pay the $70,000.

They seem to be confident that they would win in court based on my friend promoting a financial product to them without a financial license.

(The owners of the crypto investment scam ran off and can't be found by anyone as they used fake names, etc..).

The problem is that my friend has no income, savings, or assets. He's young.

He can't afford to pay $70,000 like the person is wanting from them.

1) How would legal fees cost if my friend has no money to go to court?

2) Hypothetically if the other side wins (which my friend says they won't) - How would he deal with paying $70,000 when he has no income, savings, or assets?

3) Should my friend communicate to the suers that he has no $, so it might make them realise that they're wasting their time going after someone with no $?
 
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Kevin88660

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Long story short, my friend was an affiliate marketer for a crypto investment product.

The crypto product ended up being a scam where thousands of people lost all of their money (like BitConnect).

My friend also lost all of his money as he didn't realise it was a scam.

One of the people that my friend referred to join the investment lost $70,000 and is now threatening legal action (w/a law firm) against my friend if he doesn't pay the $70,000.

They seem to be confident that they would win in court based on my friend promoting a financial product to them without a financial license.

(The owners of the crypto investment scam ran off and can't be found by anyone as they used fake names, etc..).

The problem is that my friend has no income, savings, or assets. He's young.

He can't afford to pay $70,000 like the person is wanting from them.

1) How would legal fees cost if my friend has no money to go to court?

2) Hypothetically if the other side wins (which my friend says they won't) - How would he deal with paying $70,000 when he has no income, savings, or assets?

3) Should my friend communicate to the suers that he has no $, so it might make them realise that they're wasting their time going after someone with no $?
I am not a lawyer but a licensed investment adviser.

I do not think your friend is liable. The fact that he has no license is a plus. He is not doing a professional service. If I tell you to take a painkiller and you got a side effect from it, it is your fault for not consulting your doctor. If your doctor made a mistake without understanding your body conditions then it is a different story.

Crypto is not even an investment legally speaking as of now. It is more or less a commodity in most jurisdiction.

Professional advisers when selling high risk investment products will always get clients to sign that they understand this is a high risk investment and projected return is not guaranteed.

The victim made the mistake of not doing his own due diligence or consulting his own investment advisor.
 
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BizyDad

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In order for there to be criminal charges they would have to prove your friend had criminal intent. They would have to prove that he knew this was a scam and that he promoted it anyways. Worst case this is a civil proceeding. Even selling investments without a license is a civil matter, not criminal.

I would still advise him to get a lawyer. If he talks to those guys lawyers directly, he might say or do something accidentally harmful. Best to have a lawyer talk to them in this case.

Hope that helps.
 

Raoul Duke

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You need... Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.
 

socaldude

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Well, this is something that should be discussed with an attorney that can give legal advice.

If they get a judgement against your friend then that judgement is still valid for sometime depending on the state. The sheriff can still show up and execute on that judgement on property or a bank account for example.

I mean 70k is a lot of money. If it was stolen or defrauded then obviously yes there a big problem.
 

DaRK9

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Invests $70k in crypto, he was probably gonna lose it some other way.

But go find a lawyer.

Failure to disclose the payback is an issue, but marketing crypto isn't. IF your friend didn't let the person know he was getting a commission there could be an issue.

Also going BK doesn't clear all settlement debts. I think if it's criminal or fraud BK won't reset it.
 

FierceRacoon

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From an ethics perspective, your friend is guilty of referring that third party to some scammers. Just because your friend is naive does not absolve them of this responsibility.

If you (unknowingly) played an active part in lots of people losing their money, do you get to leave it behind without any consequences except perhaps for you losing your own money? That doesn't mesh with my sense of justice at all.

But to answer your question,
Well, because he allegedly promoted a Financial Product without a Financial Service License, they say he broke the law. So criminal charges in that regard are on the table apparently.

Question:

Should he respond back to the opposing party and tell them "I have no income/savings/assets, so it's pointless for you to sue me.. and I'll end up going bankrupt which will be the end of it."?

If criminal charges are on the table, then consider this: if your friend declares bankruptcy, they can bring up the criminal charges. Is it not sufficient motivation for your friend's family to instead find the 70K? And even the friend himself can pay it in installments such as $500/month, no? This sounds like blackmail, but it can be legal, technically speaking. And it doesn't take a particularly evil mind; wait until you lose $70k and see if you will want to punish someone when it happens.


A creative solution: your friend can offer to volunteer a large amount of hours (e.g. 300 hours) at some charity of mutual choice — perhaps something about financial education for disadvantaged populations — and send the other party regular proof that he is fulfilling his obligation. This will have some philosophical fairness to it, while also making it more difficult to be angry at your friend, for anyone including a judge.

And yes, if you receive a letter demanding 70k, it is time to speak to an attorney.
 
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Roli

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Well, because he allegedly promoted a Financial Product without a Financial Service License, they say he broke the law.

Did he have a disclaimer on his website?

He should also have had a conflict of interest statement, saying that he too was invested. Also a disclaimer that the information on his site did not constitute to financial advice.

If he had those, no problems. If he didn't, then he's going to need to get legal advice from someone who knows the laws for the State his website was registered in, and/or the one he lives in.

Instinctively though (and this really isn't legal advice), I doubt that you can sue an affiliate marketer for your entire losses. At best, he may be liable for the commission he made from that sum. I'm fairly sure this would be the case in England, however for the States I'm not so sure, you guys seem to have much more leeway when it comes to suing people.
 

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He did have that disclaimer on the website (and the emails) a basic disclaiemr (eg. "this isn't financial advice, please talk to your attorney etc).

And he did tell them that he would make a commission too.

Done. The claimant does not have a legal leg to stand on, and I'm pretty sure they have been told this, which is why they're trying to intimidate your friend into paying out.

Tell your buddy not to worry, and to call their bluff and tell them to go ahead and press charges/sue, because they won't get one single penny (even in America!).
 

daniel_m

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I could definitely be wrong about this, but I think most people know that suing broke people never goes well. It's the reason why pretty much nobody sues homeless people. To me it seems like one last attempt at getting anything at all before they bail permanently. Especially since it's been a couple of months.
 
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Bekit

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Great points and appreciate it.

UPDATE: 2 months later after their new demand of $50K, they now have said that they want a response in 2 days to discuss the matter by phone OR they will go begin legal proceedings. My friend's wondering what their perspective is.
At this point, I'd say their perspective is harrassment.

This is the third time now that they've threatened to sue if they don't get $X Payment by [Deadline].

Two of those deadlines have already passed with no action on their part.

How many times do they need to fail to follow through on their threats before it's clear that the threats are empty?

If he gets on the phone call, he's just going to get chewed out by someone who is skilled at intimidation and manipulation.

There's no reason to answer their call. They're depending on his voluntary participation at this point, not any legal leverage. They know that if they sue him, they're wasting their time, because they're only going to find a big fat zero in the discovery phase.

I would just reiterate that he is a college student who lives with his parents and has zero assets and no property. And (if true) no lucrative job either.
 

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Great points and appreciate it.

UPDATE: 2 months later after their new demand of $50K, they now have said that they want a response in 2 days to discuss the matter by phone OR they will go begin legal proceedings. My friend's wondering what their perspective is.

Yeah there you go. If it was me I would just block them on all forms of communication and get on with my life. They are about as likely to sue as I am to become the next Queen of England.
 

Lucky Lu

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Thanks.

Well, because he allegedly promoted a Financial Product without a Financial Service License, they say he broke the law. So criminal charges in that regard are on the table apparently.

Question:

Should he respond back to the opposing party and tell them "I have no income/savings/assets, so it's pointless for you to sue me.. and I'll end up going bankrupt which will be the end of it."?

Because that's the most likely scenario to happen if they take him to court (even if they win

Perhaps they would back off if they realised there's nothing in it for them.

Letting them know that he has nothing for them to get a lien on or collect from could be a card to play in a negotiation with a low offer on the table, but many times once the train is rolling people tend to keep moving forward, even more if they are angry at him and really think that he is responsible.

Having that said probably bankruptcy would be the unavoidable outcome, but again, no sufficient information to give a proper opinion and a really long way to go still to venture a final scenario.

This is a personal opinion, but even in this forum, money is just that...money, so if it is just that, should not be the end of the world. A costly learning experience no doubt.
 

Lucky Lu

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Thanks, you have good points.

So maybe it's better to tell them now at the beginning (before the train keeps on moving faster and faster).

As their law firm just sent the 1st threatening legal letter "pay the $ in 7 days or we will have the right to take legal action" is what it basically said.

In my opinion - If they know that they'll get nothing + bankruptcy is the unavoidable outcome as they're sueing a college kid, they'll probably be less "optimistic" to move forward then they were before.

Could be a solution but it is a long shot. Maybe a very candid call being honest and saying that he really lost all his money as well and he is indeed just another victim of the scammers could be effective. Showing real concern and swearing that he would repay any money owed if only he was able and that he is very sorry of having been that naive and stupid in recommending that scam that ruined his life. Maybe...

The other option is to have a real attorney call them and stating the cold facts and trying to reason with them that strategically would be a mistake and very expensive to pursue a lawsuit against a broken fella that won´t be paying a dime. The problem with this is since the other party is already represented, this conversation has to be had with their lawyers and not directly with the angry people, and the only way the lawyers would be helpful in halting the procees is IF they are working on a contingency fee basis. If they are charging by the hour they would not care who picks up the bill and will keep on working but they will be bound (ethically) to pass the information through to their clients.
 
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GetShitDone

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From an ethics perspective, your friend is guilty of referring that third party to some scammers. Just because your friend is naive does not absolve them of this responsibility.

If you (unknowingly) played an active part in lots of people losing their money, do you get to leave it behind without any consequences except perhaps for you losing your own money? That doesn't mesh with my sense of justice at all.

But to answer your question,


If criminal charges are on the table, then consider this: if your friend declares bankruptcy, they can bring up the criminal charges. Is it not sufficient motivation for your friend's family to instead find the 70K? And even the friend himself can pay it in installments such as $500/month, no? This sounds like blackmail, but it can be legal, technically speaking. And it doesn't take a particularly evil mind; wait until you lose $70k and see if you will want to punish someone when it happens.


A creative solution: your friend can offer to volunteer a large amount of hours (e.g. 300 hours) at some charity of mutual choice — perhaps something about financial education for disadvantaged populations — and send the other party regular proof that he is fulfilling his obligation. This will have some philosophical fairness to it, while also making it more difficult to be angry at your friend, for anyone including a judge.

And yes, if you receive a letter demanding 70k, it is time to speak to an attorney.

I guess he could pay 500/month, but he's making no income.

Look - I guess he's trying to figure out if the other party would 'back off' when they find out he has nothing. (Eg. is it worth months to years of their time + thousands of more dollars just to get him to go bankrupt or at best pay in tiny installments when he has an income?)


Did he have a disclaimer on his website?

He should also have had a conflict of interest statement, saying that he too was invested. Also a disclaimer that the information on his site did not constitute to financial advice.

If he had those, no problems. If he didn't, then he's going to need to get legal advice from someone who knows the laws for the State his website was registered in, and/or the one he lives in.

Instinctively though (and this really isn't legal advice), I doubt that you can sue an affiliate marketer for your entire losses. At best, he may be liable for the commission he made from that sum. I'm fairly sure this would be the case in England, however for the States I'm not so sure, you guys seem to have much more leeway when it comes to suing people.

Interesting

He did have that disclaimer on the website (and the emails) a basic disclaiemr (eg. "this isn't financial advice, please talk to your attorney etc).

And he did tell them that he would make a commission too.
 
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Lucky Lu

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If he had those, no problems. If he didn't, then he's going to need to get legal advice from someone who knows the laws for the State his website was registered in, and/or the one he lives in.

This is sound advise as well. Tell him to go to a legal clinic if there is one where he lives and have a consultation. We have very little information to really know if he would be liable for the entire sum, just the comission or even nothing. If he did not participate actively on the scheme probably he has not much to worry, but again much more info is needed to really know.

Get him represented or at least, get some money to at least do a consultation with a professional familiar with the local regulations and precedents. Playing by ear we can´t do much more that these light opinions.
 

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Long story short, my friend was an affiliate marketer for a crypto investment product.

The crypto product ended up being a scam where thousands of people lost all of their money (like BitConnect).

My friend also lost all of his money as he didn't realise it was a scam.

One of the people that my friend referred to join the investment lost $70,000 and is now threatening legal action (w/a law firm) against my friend if he doesn't pay the $70,000.

They seem to be confident that they would win in court based on my friend promoting a financial product to them without a financial license.

(The owners of the crypto investment scam ran off and can't be found by anyone as they used fake names, etc..).

The problem is that my friend has no income, savings, or assets. He's young.

He can't afford to pay $70,000 like the person is wanting from them.

1) How would legal fees cost if my friend has no money to go to court?

2) Hypothetically if the other side wins (which my friend says they won't) - How would he deal with paying $70,000 when he has no income, savings, or assets?

3) Should my friend communicate to the suers that he has no $, so it might make them realise that they're wasting their time going after someone with no $?

One of the more effective things you can do is call out the attorneys. Lawfirms are huge with reputation. Put them on the following website:


and perhaps do a review of their practice. You can put them across platforms, websites, and forums like this as being a practice that promotes frivolous lawsuits. You can take a picture of the letter and put it on their google maps listing.

I know of this happening to a few friends who were very tech savvy, these folks received a letter clearly frivolous, called the lawfirm several times a day to question why they would risk their good name on such frivolity of earning $500 or whatever they charge to write a joke threatening letter. May have made an robo-dialer. They wrote them letters from other attorneys threatening legal recourse, coutersuing, and took out ads saying that lawfirm was allowing frivolous proceedings to clog up the docket, blocking real cases. Damned effective. Really hurt their reputation and they couldn't be blamed because anyone could have taken out the ads and it wasn't libel as it has an image of the actual letter. One of the ads were placed directly on their lawfirm's headquarters, so everyone in there, including the employees and clients were getting targeted ads on their mobile phones, computers, and tablets. .

I'd be shocked this guy didn't use LegalZoom. Attorneys like to think they are bulletproof, but they are just as vulnerable as we are. Just like the scammers who call or email you the best thing you can do is sap their time and resources. Fight back is one option. Depends how pissed you get.
 

No Excuses

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Long story short, my friend was an affiliate marketer for a crypto investment product.

The crypto product ended up being a scam where thousands of people lost all of their money (like BitConnect).

My friend also lost all of his money as he didn't realise it was a scam.

One of the people that my friend referred to join the investment lost $70,000 and is now threatening legal action (w/a law firm) against my friend if he doesn't pay the $70,000.

They seem to be confident that they would win in court based on my friend promoting a financial product to them without a financial license.

(The owners of the crypto investment scam ran off and can't be found by anyone as they used fake names, etc..).

The problem is that my friend has no income, savings, or assets. He's young.

He can't afford to pay $70,000 like the person is wanting from them.

1) How would legal fees cost if my friend has no money to go to court?

2) Hypothetically if the other side wins (which my friend says they won't) - How would he deal with paying $70,000 when he has no income, savings, or assets?

3) Should my friend communicate to the suers that he has no $, so it might make them realise that they're wasting their time going after someone with no $?

Jesus, your friend needs to contact a lawyer ASAP. You haven't even disclosed what city/country they reside in. It's all speculation at this point and nobody can give sound advice except an attorney. And find one that is focused on internet advertising/compliance, affiliate marketing, FTC defense (if US based).

Engaging without a good council team is not recommended.
 

superado

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I’d suggest to your friend to inquire at his local Small Business Administration (SBA) office for free or cheap legal assistance, or check out their site (https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance/find/); he can also check at his city’s chamber of commerce, community college or university that may have a legal assistance center.
 
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superado

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The American Bar Association is also a source for free or cheap legal aid for low income people:




 

lostcyclist

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I would ignore it until they take legal action.

Once legal action ia taken, my lawyee would likely file for discovery. We'd need to see their proof.

Following that, I would imagine that it is easy to file for dissmissal.

I would not reply to them. ever. it would be through my lawyer.

I would make sure my site meets al proper legal standing. if not, I would take the site down.
 

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Long story short, my friend was an affiliate marketer for a crypto investment product.

The crypto product ended up being a scam where thousands of people lost all of their money (like BitConnect).

My friend also lost all of his money as he didn't realise it was a scam.

One of the people that my friend referred to join the investment lost $70,000 and is now threatening legal action (w/a law firm) against my friend if he doesn't pay the $70,000.

They seem to be confident that they would win in court based on my friend promoting a financial product to them without a financial license.

(The owners of the crypto investment scam ran off and can't be found by anyone as they used fake names, etc..).

The problem is that my friend has no income, savings, or assets. He's young.

He can't afford to pay $70,000 like the person is wanting from them.

1) How would legal fees cost if my friend has no money to go to court?

2) Hypothetically if the other side wins (which my friend says they won't) - How would he deal with paying $70,000 when he has no income, savings, or assets?

3) Should my friend communicate to the suers that he has no $, so it might make them realise that they're wasting their time going after someone with no $?
All this depends on what country he is in and what the local laws are... In the USA, he might look at bankruptcy IF they get a judgment. That's after he defends himself in court and that usually costs thousands and thousands of dollars. And there could be criminal considerations since we're possibly talking about securities -- and that's another can of worms.

Everyone reading this thread should make notes on how to NOT do it!

This situation sounds like he's not too bright getting involved... and without a license or training or background...
 
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BizyDad

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They probably don't believe him. "I have no money" is a common refrain in these situations. They are probably probing for more info. Coming down 50% makes them seem reasonable. Maybe he's willing to negotiate now...
 

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Well more information and details are needed in order to correctly analyze the scenario buy going after someone with no assets at all is almost always fruitless for the claimant. Waiting for the "poor" defendant to improve his financial situation after a judgement is by far a long shot and filing for bankrupcy is always an option fo the debtor in most jurisdictions. (Where is your friend from?).

If he needs to defend himself and has no financial means to do so he will need to either go to a legal clinic (they take cases for people with no means to pay) or get a lawyer to defend his case "pro bono". (State Bars require their members to take cases pro bono, sometimes referring them randomly or asking for lawyers and law firms to file certain amount of pro bono hours per year).
Being sued with a somber forecast is not a great scenario, but being sued with no assets whatsoever is a little better, as a leverage to negotiate and also to have a little less pressure about the actual outcome.

If no criminal charges are filed, for a civil suit there is no risk of dire consequences other than a judgement that forces him to pay the money plus possibly lawyer fees and costs, but again, with no assets would be still rock bottom, right?

Non of this must be taken as legal advise or opinion, it is just a light overview from the little information we have so far.

Thanks.

Well, because he allegedly promoted a Financial Product without a Financial Service License, they say he broke the law. So criminal charges in that regard are on the table apparently.

Question:

Should he respond back to the opposing party and tell them "I have no income/savings/assets, so it's pointless for you to sue me.. and I'll end up going bankrupt which will be the end of it."?

Because that's the most likely scenario to happen if they take him to court (even if they win

Perhaps they would back off if they realised there's nothing in it for them.
 
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Letting them know that he has nothing for them to get a lien on or collect from could be a card to play in a negotiation with a low offer on the table, but many times once the train is rolling people tend to keep moving forward, even more if they are angry at him and really think that he is responsible.

Having that said probably bankruptcy would be the unavoidable outcome, but again, no sufficient information to give a proper opinion and a really long way to go still to venture a final scenario.

This is a personal opinion, but even in this forum, money is just that...money, so if it is just that, should not be the end of the world. A costly learning experience no doubt.

Thanks, you have good points.

So maybe it's better to tell them now at the beginning (before the train keeps on moving faster and faster).

As their law firm just sent the 1st threatening legal letter "pay the $ in 7 days or we will have the right to take legal action" is what it basically said.

In my opinion - If they know that they'll get nothing + bankruptcy is the unavoidable outcome as they're sueing a college kid, they'll probably be less "optimistic" to move forward then they were before.
 

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Could be a solution but it is a long shot. Maybe a very candid call being honest and saying that he really lost all his money as well and he is indeed just another victim of the scammers could be effective. Showing real concern and swearing that he would repay any money owed if only he was able and that he is very sorry of having been that naive and stupid in recommending that scam that ruined his life. Maybe...

The other option is to have a real attorney call them and stating the cold facts and trying to reason with them that strategically would be a mistake and very expensive to pursue a lawsuit against a broken fella that won´t be paying a dime. The problem with this is since the other party is already represented, this conversation has to be had with their lawyers and not directly with the angry people, and the only way the lawyers would be helpful in halting the procees is IF they are working on a contingency fee basis. If they are charging by the hour they would not care who picks up the bill and will keep on working but they will be bound (ethically) to pass the information through to their clients.

I think your 2nd option makes sense. With that said - Can't my friend/my friend's lawyer simply directly contact the investor instead of the lawyer? No trial/court proceedings have began yet, so maybe they can do that.

I wonder how they would feel from a lawyer's point of view - knowing the person they are trying to sue doesn't have a dime and would just go bankrupt. The lawyer wouldn't care, but I bet the investor/client would
Well, this is something that should be discussed with an attorney that can give legal advice.

If they get a judgement against your friend then that judgement is still valid for sometime depending on the state. The sheriff can still show up and execute on that judgement on property or a bank account for example.

I mean 70k is a lot of money. If it was stolen or defrauded then obviously yes there a big problem.

My friend doesn't have any property or even any money in his bank account. He lives with his parents and is in his early 20s. That's why we're wondering what would be the incentive for them to go after him if there's nothing to make a judgement on.

Invests $70k in crypto, he was probably gonna lose it some other way.

But go find a lawyer.

Failure to disclose the payback is an issue, but marketing crypto isn't. IF your friend didn't let the person know he was getting a commission there could be an issue.

Also going BK doesn't clear all settlement debts. I think if it's criminal or fraud BK won't reset it.

He did disclose that he was getting an affiliate marketing commission.
 
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