New York - I’m a 32-year-old male, and I’ve been with my 31-year-old wife for 14 years. Her mother has been handling our taxes for a decade.
A few years ago, my wife discovered through her Credit Karma account that her mother had opened two credit accounts in her name, causing a major family conflict. We took control of the cards and warned her mother that if it happened again, we’d report her.
Two years later, she did it again. My wife is hesitant to report her mother to the authorities because it’s her mom. We took the card back, and she promised to make payments, but now we’re stuck with over $10,000 in debt.
I’ve told my wife we need to report this to the authorities in Florida, but she’s conflicted. What would you do?
Handle the debt yourselves—either pay it off and have your MIL reimburse you or forgive it.
Report her to the police, leading to criminal fraud charges and potential jail time.
Given your wife’s hesitation, I’d lean toward the first option. Also, freeze both of your credit reports and advise your wife’s siblings to do the same. If you plan to care for your MIL in the future, pressing charges may not make sense.
After the first incident, you should have immediately frozen both your and your wife’s credit to prevent it from happening again. The first thing to do now is freeze your credit, as your MIL has all your information from the tax returns. This prevents her from opening accounts in either of your names. Next, report her to the police and stop letting her do your taxes.
If she’s a professional tax preparer, this could be happening to others too, so it’s crucial to report it. Mother or not, fraud is serious and needs to be addressed. This directly impacts your financial future, and credit is vital for everything from renting to purchasing—don’t let her jeopardize that.
Hello, They missed the chance to report it to the credit card company properly. They can still attempt to file charges, but by agreeing to the payment plan, they’ve effectively taken responsibility for the debt, even if they weren’t fully aware of it at the time.
Hi, My advise to is Report her to the police right away. If you don’t take action, she’ll likely keep repeating this behavior. It’s shocking that nothing has been done yet—something needs to be done to stop it.
Hey, She was warned, yet she still betrayed you and her own daughter. It’s heartbreaking to see how she used her daughter’s love to cover her lies. You can’t carry this burden—your wife can’t either. Reporting her is essential, or she’ll continue, and you’ll be ruined. If there are other children, inform them; she’s likely done the same to them. This is a calculated scam, no doubt.