Harrisburg, PA asked in Criminal Law, Divorce and Traffic Tickets for North Carolina

Q: ex wife committed mail fraud by opening and acting upon government issued mail to suspend ex husband license

I live in in raleigh, NC. I separated from my wife on oct 19th, 2016 in which I left my home on that day and my ex continued to live there to this day. speeding ticket was sent to my home from VA on Oct 30th, 2016. Ex wife never gave me the notice to pay the ticket and she waited until 1 month ago to tip off the police that my license was suspended. I completely forgot about the ticket due to the stress of going through the divorce with a 4 year old daughter. I go to pick up my daughter and cops are waiting for me because they were saying I could not drive because license was suspended. Since the government issued mail was addressed to me, and obviously my ex wife opened and acted upon the information that was in there, is this a crime/felony? can I prosecute?

1 Lawyer Answer
Amanda Bowden Johnson
PREMIUM
Amanda Bowden Johnson pro label Lawyers, want to be a Justia Connect Pro too? Learn more ›
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Jacksonville, NC
  • Licensed in North Carolina

A: Let's see if I have this straight - you move, you don't bother to update your address with DVM or your license. You then get a ticket - which you proceed to forget about because of 'stress' (and keep in mind this would be forget about for months) and don't take care of. And some how this is your ex wife's fault because she opened mail that you should have put in a forwarding address for? (and if your forward time expired that just makes you not updating your address with DMV even more agregious). Even if you could get a DA to prosecute this (which is doubtful) you should basically be to embarresed too. Had you updated your address as you are required to or not gotton the ticket in the first place or been responsible enough not to forget about it - none of this would have happened. Your best bet is to get the ticket taken care of, get your license reinstated and be more responsible in the future. One last thing, the reason why you'd likely have a hard time getting a DA to prosecute this (besides the fact that it is very petty) isn't that opening your mail isn't crime - it's that unless she is stupid enough to admit it, your odds of proving it are way less than slim and none. While she likely did open it, just because she called the cops is not necessairily proof she opened it. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know DMV gives a thirty day notice before taking suspension activity. She very well could have simply assumed it was a suspension letter and called the cops thirty days later - without ever having opened it.

Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.

The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.

Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.