Chapter 20 - The money agreement
We did not prosecute each other.
People later asked why.
Because criminal law did not map cleanly onto what happened.
I had voluntarily made Louis and Carla authorized users.
I had failed to set written limits.
Some personal charges were clearly outside what I intended.
Proving criminal intent for every transaction would have been messy.
No forged card.
No stolen number.
No secret bank transfer out of my savings.
Instead we created a civil repayment agreement.
We started with the clearly personal and unauthorized amounts.
Hearthstone:
$5,800 including assessment and retainers.
Furniture:
$1,900.
Hotels:
$1,240.
Clothing and personal retail:
$3,660.
Louis’s clearly personal business and entertainment charges:
$6,900 after excluding items he reasonably argued related to household work.
Total agreed reimbursement:
$19,500.
We credited $4,200 for specific repair materials Louis had purchased personally but never been reimbursed for.
Net:
$15,300.
Payments:
$425 a month.
No interest if current.
It would take three years.
May you like
Not dramatic.
Accountability often looks like automated transfers.
