1
00:00:00,233 --> 00:00:01,633
He had been helping me out for a while.

2
00:00:01,633 --> 00:00:03,433
He became a weirdo.

3
00:00:03,433 --> 00:00:06,600
He wanted to have me do
inappropriate sexual things to him.

4
00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:07,667
You took his money.

5
00:00:07,667 --> 00:00:08,900
She never asked for any of it.

6
00:00:08,900 --> 00:00:10,500
She spent it!

7
00:00:10,500 --> 00:00:12,367
- Yeah.
- You had your sucker.

8
00:00:13,500 --> 00:00:15,133
- No
- No, no.

9
00:00:15,133 --> 00:00:16,367
Sit. Sit.

10
00:00:16,367 --> 00:00:19,200
<i>This is</i> Judy Justice.

11
00:00:35,567 --> 00:00:39,100
<i>Steward Salmond
is suing his former friend</i>

12
00:00:39,100 --> 00:00:42,934
{\an8}<i>Alayna Smith for an unpaid
car loan given to Alayna</i>

13
00:00:42,934 --> 00:00:44,567
<i>after her release from prison.</i>

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00:00:44,567 --> 00:00:46,767
Court come to order. All rise.

15
00:00:47,700 --> 00:00:48,867
Have a seat everyone.

16
00:00:51,066 --> 00:00:54,333
Hello Judge.
Case 2166 Salmond versus Smith.

17
00:00:54,333 --> 00:00:55,467
Thank you.

18
00:00:56,667 --> 00:00:59,433
Mr. Salmond,
the long and short of this case

19
00:00:59,433 --> 00:01:02,900
is you met the Defendant
on some sort of a website.

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00:01:02,900 --> 00:01:04,633
She was in prison at the time.

21
00:01:04,633 --> 00:01:06,734
You began to see her.
She got out of prison.

22
00:01:06,734 --> 00:01:12,200
You gave her a certain amount of money
that you considered gifts to her

23
00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:15,400
but then she asked you
if she could borrow money to buy a car.

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00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:19,567
You gave her $2,600
with the expectation of being repaid.

25
00:01:19,567 --> 00:01:21,700
{\an8}- And this is your lawsuit?
- Mm-hmm.

26
00:01:21,700 --> 00:01:23,266
Correct?
- Yes, Your Honor.

27
00:01:23,266 --> 00:01:25,767
{\an8}OK. And your answer to him said,

28
00:01:25,767 --> 00:01:30,000
{\an8}"Well it was never really anticipated
that I would give him back his money

29
00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,300
{\an8}only I said I would give him back
if I got my stimulus money.

30
00:01:33,300 --> 00:01:36,233
I didn't get my stimulus money
so I'm not paying him back."

31
00:01:36,233 --> 00:01:38,166
That's what the case is about. Simple.

32
00:01:38,166 --> 00:01:41,166
So let me get a couple of
pieces of information from you

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00:01:41,166 --> 00:01:43,166
from when to when were you in prison?

34
00:01:43,166 --> 00:01:45,233
January of 2019

35
00:01:45,233 --> 00:01:47,900
- until June of 2022.
- For what?

36
00:01:47,900 --> 00:01:49,600
Several things, um,

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00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:51,767
Identity thefts and stolen firearms.

38
00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:54,066
And?
- That was it.

39
00:01:54,066 --> 00:01:56,600
Was there one indictment
or more than one indictment?

40
00:01:56,600 --> 00:02:00,233
Um, one Federal indictment
and 23 counts for State.

41
00:02:00,233 --> 00:02:02,033
Which State?
- Washington.

42
00:02:02,033 --> 00:02:03,700
Was it the first time you were in prison?

43
00:02:03,700 --> 00:02:04,700
Yes.

44
00:02:04,700 --> 00:02:07,467
Did anybody else go
into prison as a result of the same case?

45
00:02:07,467 --> 00:02:08,467
No.

46
00:02:08,467 --> 00:02:11,133
At what point during
your stay in prison

47
00:02:11,133 --> 00:02:13,767
did you begin to communicate
with Mr. Salmond?

48
00:02:13,767 --> 00:02:16,633
Somebody had put me on a prison,
uh, pen pal website

49
00:02:16,633 --> 00:02:18,900
which I wasn't aware of
until I got a message from him.

50
00:02:18,900 --> 00:02:22,500
{\an8}I took myself off the site.
That site's usually for people

51
00:02:22,500 --> 00:02:27,266
{\an8}to get things from people, uh, money...
money on their books, packages.

52
00:02:27,266 --> 00:02:28,533
So we started talking but...

53
00:02:28,533 --> 00:02:30,400
When? Give me a month and year.

54
00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,200
It was, it was in April of... of 2019.

55
00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:34,367
So right away?

56
00:02:34,367 --> 00:02:36,467
Yeah, about a few months after.
Right away.

57
00:02:36,467 --> 00:02:38,934
And you were in jail so you clearly
stayed in touch with him?

58
00:02:38,934 --> 00:02:40,066
Yeah.

59
00:02:40,066 --> 00:02:41,967
How often did you
stay in touch with him?

60
00:02:41,967 --> 00:02:46,033
We corresponded maybe, like, initially,
like, once every couple months.

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00:02:46,033 --> 00:02:51,433
- And then?
- And then I was taken from prison to, uh,

62
00:02:51,433 --> 00:02:56,500
Spokane in November of 2020
for a Federal indictment.

63
00:02:56,500 --> 00:02:59,400
- I was gone six months.
- To serve time on a Federal indictment?

64
00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,300
Uh, not to serve time
but to... to be indicted and sentenced.

65
00:03:02,300 --> 00:03:03,700
And were you?

66
00:03:03,700 --> 00:03:05,166
I was.
To what?

67
00:03:05,166 --> 00:03:06,233
Uh, six months.

68
00:03:06,233 --> 00:03:07,567
In the same prison?

69
00:03:07,567 --> 00:03:09,133
No.
Different prison?

70
00:03:09,133 --> 00:03:12,600
Yeah. I was supposed to go after
my State to go to my Federal time.

71
00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:16,767
Now the government started to send out
these stimulus checks,

72
00:03:16,767 --> 00:03:19,934
which in my mind and maybe I'm wrong,

73
00:03:19,934 --> 00:03:23,333
were given to people who were suffering
through the pandemic

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00:03:23,333 --> 00:03:27,066
because they couldn't work,
they couldn't feed themselves.

75
00:03:27,066 --> 00:03:30,100
They needed money to exist.

76
00:03:30,100 --> 00:03:32,333
And that's why the money was given out.

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00:03:32,333 --> 00:03:35,800
I mean, I recall the letter
that came with the stimulus money.

78
00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:37,567
Seemed to me, Ms. Smith,

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00:03:37,567 --> 00:03:41,600
as I'm gonna ask you, cause I read
your answer which I found interesting.

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00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:45,133
And you said that while you were
in prison and communicating with him,

81
00:03:45,133 --> 00:03:47,533
several of your stimulus checks came.

82
00:03:47,533 --> 00:03:51,100
- Where did they come?
- They were going to be sent to his house.

83
00:03:51,100 --> 00:03:52,700
Why were they gonna be sent to his house?

84
00:03:52,700 --> 00:03:56,400
{\an8}Because inmates were having their
stimulus checks sent to the facility.

85
00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:59,066
{\an8}The facility takes 75% of it.

86
00:03:59,066 --> 00:04:03,000
Now let's...
so I knew this would get more interesting,

87
00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,533
and I have to sort of
put it in my timeline.

88
00:04:05,533 --> 00:04:08,533
So you had to apply
for the stimulus checks?

89
00:04:08,533 --> 00:04:11,133
Correct.
And all the inmates

90
00:04:11,133 --> 00:04:13,166
filled out a form
for the stimulus checks.

91
00:04:13,166 --> 00:04:14,133
Mm-hmm.

92
00:04:14,133 --> 00:04:16,100
The other inmates filled out forms

93
00:04:16,100 --> 00:04:18,567
which said that they
wanted the stimulus checks

94
00:04:18,567 --> 00:04:21,533
gave them their Social Security number
and an address.

95
00:04:21,533 --> 00:04:22,500
Correct.

96
00:04:22,500 --> 00:04:25,266
And you put his address
on your stimulus check?

97
00:04:25,266 --> 00:04:26,834
Actually he filed it for me.

98
00:04:26,834 --> 00:04:28,533
Whoever, he put his address.

99
00:04:28,533 --> 00:04:30,500
Was it at your direction
that he fill it out for you

100
00:04:30,500 --> 00:04:32,333
{\an8}or did he just do it himself?

101
00:04:32,333 --> 00:04:35,633
{\an8}- I mean, if it were casual...
- Yeah. He filed online for me.

102
00:04:35,633 --> 00:04:38,433
Because you asked him to?
- Yes.

103
00:04:38,433 --> 00:04:40,533
And because he used his address

104
00:04:40,533 --> 00:04:44,266
while the government was taking 75%
of those stimulus checks

105
00:04:44,266 --> 00:04:48,033
and taking it for your upkeep in prison

106
00:04:48,033 --> 00:04:49,533
because there's
a certain amount of upkeep.

107
00:04:49,533 --> 00:04:52,400
You have meals, you have doctor services,
whatever you have,

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00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:57,934
they took 75 leaving you 25% I suppose
to put on your account in the canteen

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00:04:57,934 --> 00:04:59,367
or to do whatever you want.

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00:04:59,367 --> 00:05:01,000
- Is that close?
- Yes.

111
00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:02,700
How many checks did you see?

112
00:05:02,700 --> 00:05:03,633
None.

113
00:05:03,633 --> 00:05:06,300
Because according to you,
they went to his house

114
00:05:06,300 --> 00:05:08,233
and since he couldn't find you

115
00:05:08,233 --> 00:05:11,233
because you had been transferred
to one prison or another,

116
00:05:11,233 --> 00:05:13,734
what did you do with the checks
and how many did you get?

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00:05:13,734 --> 00:05:17,000
{\an8}I believe I got wo checks
and then they just all expired.

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00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:19,033
{\an8}No, I never... I never
deposited them or anything.

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00:05:19,033 --> 00:05:21,166
- Do you have them?
- No, Ma'am.

120
00:05:21,166 --> 00:05:22,166
Where are they?

121
00:05:22,166 --> 00:05:24,333
One of them I sent back.
And where's the other one?

122
00:05:24,333 --> 00:05:26,266
Just threw it away.

123
00:05:26,266 --> 00:05:29,100
When did they send it in 2020 or 2021?

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00:05:29,100 --> 00:05:32,700
- I believe it was 2021.
- Your Honor, it's 2020.

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00:05:32,700 --> 00:05:35,000
OK. But you never cashed any of them?

126
00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:36,700
No, Ma'am.
Good thing.

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00:05:36,700 --> 00:05:38,066
Very good thing.

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00:05:38,066 --> 00:05:41,200
For no rhyme or reason
to giving out stimulus money

129
00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:44,400
to people who were already
being taken care of by the State.

130
00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:49,233
But the federal government I know was
printing money like it was Mardi Gras

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00:05:49,233 --> 00:05:52,133
and sending money to prisoners
is a dubious thing.

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00:05:52,133 --> 00:05:54,533
Sarah, you looked up
some figures for me on...

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00:05:54,533 --> 00:05:55,633
Mm-hmm.

134
00:05:55,633 --> 00:05:57,100
...because I was curious about this case.

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00:05:57,100 --> 00:06:00,300
How much money, Kevin and I spent

136
00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:03,567
on sending money to prisoners,

137
00:06:03,567 --> 00:06:07,467
especially those who were
in long term like, lifers or whatever.

138
00:06:07,467 --> 00:06:09,700
She wasn't, but she got stimulus checks.

139
00:06:09,700 --> 00:06:11,567
Two of them sent to him.

140
00:06:11,567 --> 00:06:15,700
So there were over $1.1 million
Covid stimulus checks

141
00:06:15,700 --> 00:06:19,300
totaling over $1.3 billion
sent out to incarcerated people

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00:06:19,300 --> 00:06:21,600
across the United States throughout Covid.

143
00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:25,600
And out of those numbers,
according to the letter from the IRS,

144
00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:30,166
some 163,000 recipients
were serving life sentences

145
00:06:30,166 --> 00:06:31,667
who received the stimulus checks.

146
00:06:31,667 --> 00:06:34,000
But that's throughout the US,
not just in Washington.

147
00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:36,166
Not just the state of Washington.
I got it. OK.

148
00:06:38,834 --> 00:06:41,934
I don't know one guy,
that cold Turkey

149
00:06:41,934 --> 00:06:45,133
goes on a prison website
to get a pen pal.

150
00:06:45,133 --> 00:06:49,734
But the people that do that
are sort of the same people

151
00:06:49,734 --> 00:06:51,734
that have themselves shot out of a cannon.

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00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:55,133
A little bit crazy, a little bit.

153
00:07:06,567 --> 00:07:10,734
<i>Steward Salmond
claims his former friend, Alayna Smith,</i>

154
00:07:10,734 --> 00:07:15,200
<i>owes for a car loan he gave her
after she was released from prison.</i>

155
00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:18,100
Then, Ms. Smith, there comes a time
when you get out of jail.

156
00:07:18,100 --> 00:07:19,266
Correct.

157
00:07:19,266 --> 00:07:21,967
During the time that you were in jail
once you reconnected with him,

158
00:07:21,967 --> 00:07:24,367
- did he send you any money?
- That's when he started.

159
00:07:24,367 --> 00:07:26,300
He never had before.
I never asked, but when I got...

160
00:07:26,300 --> 00:07:27,767
When you reconnected?

161
00:07:27,767 --> 00:07:29,767
Yes, because I had lost my job
being gone for court.

162
00:07:29,767 --> 00:07:30,767
Oh, so you got out?

163
00:07:30,767 --> 00:07:33,166
{\an8}No, no, I was... I was...
I had a job in the prison.

164
00:07:33,166 --> 00:07:35,300
OK.
- But I was gone for six months for court.

165
00:07:35,300 --> 00:07:36,767
So when I got back I lost that job.

166
00:07:36,767 --> 00:07:38,767
So that was the first time
I asked him for help.

167
00:07:38,767 --> 00:07:41,500
But again, my stimulus checks
were supposed to be at his house, so...

168
00:07:41,500 --> 00:07:43,233
But they were there...
- I didn't know that yet.

169
00:07:43,233 --> 00:07:45,000
OK.
- So...

170
00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:46,900
Well you asked him to fill out the form.

171
00:07:46,900 --> 00:07:52,266
Why did you agree to fill out the form
with your address on the stimulus checks?

172
00:07:52,266 --> 00:07:54,433
She said she had no one else
to send them to.

173
00:07:54,433 --> 00:07:56,767
- OK. Mr. Salmond, do you work?
- Yes, Ma'am.

174
00:07:56,767 --> 00:07:57,767
Who do you work for?

175
00:07:57,767 --> 00:08:00,200
I work at the hospital in Tyler.
What do you do?

176
00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:02,300
I'm a nurse.
Now, Mr. Salmond,

177
00:08:02,300 --> 00:08:05,400
why wouldn't you ask Ms. Smith,

178
00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:09,533
{\an8}"Hey, why do you want them at my house?
I can't cash them."

179
00:08:09,533 --> 00:08:11,700
{\an8}Why not just send them to the prison?

180
00:08:11,700 --> 00:08:13,200
{\an8}- Did she tell you?
- No, Ma'am.

181
00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:14,667
Did you ask her?

182
00:08:14,667 --> 00:08:16,433
No, Ma'am.
All right.

183
00:08:16,433 --> 00:08:18,433
So he's not asking for
any of that money back.

184
00:08:18,433 --> 00:08:21,934
He's asking for the $2,600
for the car that you wanted

185
00:08:21,934 --> 00:08:23,433
when you came out of prison.

186
00:08:23,433 --> 00:08:25,266
When you came out of prison,
you lived independently?

187
00:08:25,266 --> 00:08:27,166
I was in a transitional housing.

188
00:08:27,166 --> 00:08:28,100
Mm-hmm.

189
00:08:28,100 --> 00:08:31,600
{\an8}And tell me how it came about
that you asked him for money for a car.

190
00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:34,266
{\an8}He came and picked me up from prison,
bought me a phone.

191
00:08:34,266 --> 00:08:36,233
OK. He picked you up.
That was nice.

192
00:08:36,233 --> 00:08:38,166
- Yeah.
- Anybody else pick you up?

193
00:08:38,166 --> 00:08:39,600
No.
Who's that?

194
00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:41,467
This is my
best friend of 18 years.

195
00:08:41,467 --> 00:08:42,767
OK. Did she pick you up?

196
00:08:42,767 --> 00:08:44,500
No.
So he picked you up?

197
00:08:44,500 --> 00:08:45,934
- Yeah.
- OK. And what else did he do?

198
00:08:45,934 --> 00:08:47,934
- He bought you a phone?
- He bought me a phone.

199
00:08:47,934 --> 00:08:49,367
He's not asking for that back.

200
00:08:49,367 --> 00:08:50,767
He brought you a phone as a gift, correct?

201
00:08:50,767 --> 00:08:52,767
Yes, Ma'am.
Yes. He bought you a phone.

202
00:08:52,767 --> 00:08:54,367
So that you would be
connected to the world.

203
00:08:54,367 --> 00:08:55,433
Correct.
- What's next?

204
00:08:55,433 --> 00:08:58,133
Then he started cash apping me money
that I didn't ask for.

205
00:08:58,133 --> 00:09:00,700
How much?
- I have it all right here.

206
00:09:00,700 --> 00:09:04,000
The first one was June 13th for $50.

207
00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:05,734
June 14th for $50.

208
00:09:05,734 --> 00:09:07,567
This is prior to the car money.

209
00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:10,767
So you said
you needed some cash and he...

210
00:09:10,767 --> 00:09:12,767
I never said I needed it.
He just was doing it.

211
00:09:12,767 --> 00:09:14,934
OK. And he's not asking
for any of that money back.

212
00:09:14,934 --> 00:09:16,700
Right.
Now, tell me about the car.

213
00:09:16,700 --> 00:09:18,767
So... I got a job offer,

214
00:09:18,767 --> 00:09:22,467
but I didn't have a vehicle
so he had been helping me out for a while.

215
00:09:22,467 --> 00:09:23,967
OK. So he was helping you?

216
00:09:23,967 --> 00:09:27,133
So yeah.
So I asked him for money to get a car.

217
00:09:27,133 --> 00:09:30,166
{\an8}This first stimulus check
that he sent back I wasn't getting.

218
00:09:30,166 --> 00:09:33,533
{\an8}But the third one, I had to file
a tax return in order to get that,

219
00:09:33,533 --> 00:09:35,266
{\an8}which was only $1,400.

220
00:09:35,266 --> 00:09:36,200
Just a second.

221
00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:38,700
I don't care about your stimulus money.
I don't wanna buy you a car.

222
00:09:38,700 --> 00:09:40,000
No, that was to pay him back.

223
00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:42,200
I don't wanna buy you a car.

224
00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:44,066
But he bought me a car.
No, no, no.

225
00:09:44,066 --> 00:09:46,133
My stimulus money I was
supposed to give him for only $1,400.

226
00:09:46,133 --> 00:09:47,533
No, no, no, no, no.

227
00:09:47,533 --> 00:09:50,133
You have to understand something.
You have no proof.

228
00:09:50,133 --> 00:09:53,900
And I actually believe him when I say
he didn't cash your stimulus checks.

229
00:09:53,900 --> 00:09:54,934
Yeah.
He returned them.

230
00:09:54,934 --> 00:09:56,433
- You don't even think that he cashed them
- No.

231
00:09:56,433 --> 00:09:57,767
...'cause that
would've been a Federal offense

232
00:09:57,767 --> 00:09:59,033
- and he would've gone to jail.
- Yeah, he didn't.

233
00:09:59,033 --> 00:10:00,567
And you didn't wanna go to jail. Right?

234
00:10:00,567 --> 00:10:01,767
{\an8}No, Ma'am.

235
00:10:01,767 --> 00:10:05,567
And truth of the
matter is stimulus money is, my view,

236
00:10:05,567 --> 00:10:09,667
not for anything other than
try to keeping everything in balance.

237
00:10:09,667 --> 00:10:11,200
While there was Covid.

238
00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:15,133
And you got out of jail owning
a car is sort of a luxury.

239
00:10:15,133 --> 00:10:16,633
You have to have car,
you have to have insurance,

240
00:10:16,633 --> 00:10:17,834
you have to be able to keep it up.

241
00:10:17,834 --> 00:10:20,800
That's not what stimulus money was for.
So let's go back.

242
00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:23,133
He didn't collect any of your money.

243
00:10:23,133 --> 00:10:27,400
He was nice enough to put in
$50 here, $60 there.

244
00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:30,400
Gave you a phone
so you would be connected.

245
00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:32,633
Now you tell him that
you need money for a car.

246
00:10:32,633 --> 00:10:35,433
On what date did you tell him
you need money for a car?

247
00:10:35,433 --> 00:10:36,633
On June 15th.

248
00:10:36,633 --> 00:10:38,767
- And he gave you $2,600?
- Correct.

249
00:10:38,767 --> 00:10:41,600
- And that was in June of 2022?
- Correct.

250
00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:44,967
Now I'd like to see the emails
following up when he's asking you

251
00:10:44,967 --> 00:10:48,800
for repayment of that $2,600.
Do you have any?

252
00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:50,500
- Yes, Ma'am.
- I'd like to take a look at 'em.

253
00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:06,233
Where is the car now?

254
00:11:06,233 --> 00:11:08,233
It was totaled.
It was in a recent car accident.

255
00:11:08,233 --> 00:11:10,467
When?
- Uh, December 2nd.

256
00:11:10,467 --> 00:11:12,266
Who was driving it?
I was driving it.

257
00:11:12,266 --> 00:11:13,767
Did you have insurance on it?

258
00:11:13,767 --> 00:11:15,166
Yes.
Did you hit another car

259
00:11:15,166 --> 00:11:16,367
or did the other car hit you?

260
00:11:16,367 --> 00:11:19,000
The other car pulled out in front of me
and I hit them. They were at fault.

261
00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:20,767
The insurance payout on the claim?

262
00:11:20,767 --> 00:11:22,433
Mm-hmm.
To whom?

263
00:11:22,433 --> 00:11:24,000
To myself.
How much?

264
00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:27,834
{\an8}Just for the damage of the car.
It was $3,200.

265
00:11:27,834 --> 00:11:30,000
- So what did you do with the money?
- I bought a new vehicle.

266
00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:32,934
- What kind did you get?
- 2008 Pontiac G6.

267
00:11:32,934 --> 00:11:35,533
- How much did you pay for it?
- I paid $2,700.

268
00:11:35,533 --> 00:11:38,700
So if you gave him back his $2,600

269
00:11:38,700 --> 00:11:41,266
you still would've had a down payment
enough for that car?

270
00:11:41,266 --> 00:11:42,867
I paid cash on this vehicle.

271
00:11:42,867 --> 00:11:44,567
I know what you did.

272
00:11:44,567 --> 00:11:46,967
But if you had done the right thing

273
00:11:46,967 --> 00:11:50,066
you would've paid him back his $2,600

274
00:11:50,066 --> 00:11:52,967
and you would've had a down payment,
and you would've been paying off the car.

275
00:11:52,967 --> 00:11:55,633
So there was no agreement
for me to pay the $2,600.

276
00:11:55,633 --> 00:11:58,500
It was to pay him back
with my stimulus of only $14...

277
00:11:58,500 --> 00:12:00,133
Well, I've read this here

278
00:12:00,133 --> 00:12:03,233
and you know what I get out
of these text messages back and forth,

279
00:12:03,233 --> 00:12:07,233
something that people
who are takers do all the time

280
00:12:07,233 --> 00:12:13,166
they justify taking because you say,
"You're just so blank petty!

281
00:12:13,166 --> 00:12:17,567
You make more than enough
and I'm making $500 a week.

282
00:12:17,567 --> 00:12:19,433
I have real life problems."

283
00:12:19,433 --> 00:12:23,133
So you're saying that the money
isn't really that important to you

284
00:12:23,133 --> 00:12:27,000
and it's that important to me
and I have a child to take care of.

285
00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:30,100
And you don't, you make $500.
Do you live alone, sir?

286
00:12:30,100 --> 00:12:31,300
Yes, Ma'am.

287
00:12:31,300 --> 00:12:34,033
Yes. You live alone.
You were a good sucker for a while.

288
00:12:34,033 --> 00:12:38,233
And now I'm not giving you back the money.
I'm... I'm cutting you off.

289
00:12:38,233 --> 00:12:39,834
Did you change... Yes?

290
00:12:39,834 --> 00:12:44,367
So he continued to Cash App her
after the $2,600.

291
00:12:44,367 --> 00:12:45,600
Sit... up here.

292
00:12:47,767 --> 00:12:51,066
{\an8}After June 15th when
he sent her the $2,600,

293
00:12:51,066 --> 00:12:53,700
{\an8}he sends her, unsolicited,

294
00:12:53,700 --> 00:12:57,467
{\an8}another $700 dating all the way
to August 11th.

295
00:12:57,467 --> 00:12:59,667
Well that's terrific.
Isn't he a nice person?

296
00:12:59,667 --> 00:13:02,533
She's been your best friend for 17 years.

297
00:13:02,533 --> 00:13:04,800
Eighteen. Yes, Ma'am.
Eighteen years.

298
00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:06,233
- Do you work?
- I do.

299
00:13:06,233 --> 00:13:08,567
- What kind of work do you do?
- I work in healthcare.

300
00:13:08,567 --> 00:13:10,133
You make a living?
- I do.

301
00:13:10,133 --> 00:13:12,133
You have a car?
- I do.

302
00:13:12,133 --> 00:13:13,633
You have a home?
- I do.

303
00:13:13,633 --> 00:13:15,900
Right. Why didn't you give her money?

304
00:13:15,900 --> 00:13:18,600
I was in the middle of a divorce
and we were selling our home.

305
00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:21,300
So the answer is you had other things.

306
00:13:21,300 --> 00:13:25,467
You work, that's two sources of income
of her best friend for 18 years

307
00:13:25,467 --> 00:13:29,233
- and she could have come to you and...
- She did and I gave her money.

308
00:13:29,233 --> 00:13:31,367
OK. Well she seems to be...
now you can sit down.

309
00:13:31,367 --> 00:13:34,500
She seems to be a taker
and if he gave her more money

310
00:13:34,500 --> 00:13:38,533
even after this $2,600,
he's not asking for that money back.

311
00:13:38,533 --> 00:13:41,500
He also told me to keep
the stimulus check to pay the car.

312
00:13:41,500 --> 00:13:43,433
Oh, I'd like to see it.
Not that it's important.

313
00:13:43,433 --> 00:13:45,367
No, it is because I'm...
he told me to keep it.

314
00:13:45,367 --> 00:13:48,233
Just a second, because I'm not...
you didn't get another stimulus check?

315
00:13:48,233 --> 00:13:49,533
No, I didn't get the stimulus check.

316
00:13:49,533 --> 00:13:51,600
- No. You didn't get another...
- That was the only stipulation

317
00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:53,567
to paying him back with that check.

318
00:13:53,567 --> 00:13:55,266
No. No.

319
00:13:55,266 --> 00:13:56,633
Yes.

320
00:13:57,900 --> 00:13:59,233
He was tracking my iPhone.

321
00:13:59,233 --> 00:14:02,166
He was constantly blowing up my phone.

322
00:14:02,166 --> 00:14:03,367
He became a weirdo.

323
00:14:03,367 --> 00:14:06,367
- He sent me an email...
- Madam. I have to tell you something.

324
00:14:06,367 --> 00:14:08,333
It takes a weirdo to know a weirdo.

325
00:14:19,767 --> 00:14:23,166
<i>Stuart Salmond
has accused his former friend,</i>

326
00:14:23,166 --> 00:14:26,600
<i>Alayna Smith of refusing
to pay back a car loan.</i>

327
00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:28,900
<i>Alayna claims the car was a gift</i>

328
00:14:28,900 --> 00:14:31,400
<i>after she was released from prison.</i>

329
00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:33,033
He was being a really nice guy.

330
00:14:33,033 --> 00:14:35,500
"I sent you money so you and
your daughter can do some stuff.

331
00:14:35,500 --> 00:14:38,333
Like you can get some of
your precious Papa John's."

332
00:14:38,333 --> 00:14:39,600
Seems like a nice guy.

333
00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:41,967
She never asked for any of it.
She even had him blocked...

334
00:14:41,967 --> 00:14:43,500
- Just a second.
- ...during that.

335
00:14:43,500 --> 00:14:44,967
She spent it!

336
00:14:44,967 --> 00:14:46,767
Yeah.
She... just a second.

337
00:14:46,767 --> 00:14:48,233
She spent it.

338
00:14:48,233 --> 00:14:52,700
Do you know there are times
when I remember both myself

339
00:14:52,700 --> 00:14:57,100
and other family members
erroneously received money.

340
00:14:57,100 --> 00:14:58,767
I don't know if it ever happened to you?

341
00:14:58,767 --> 00:15:02,700
Erroneously a... a deposit comes
into your checking account.

342
00:15:02,700 --> 00:15:06,100
You don't know where it comes from.
Well, somebody put it in there mistakenly.

343
00:15:06,100 --> 00:15:08,000
- Right?
- This wasn't mistakenly.

344
00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:09,734
Just a sec. Same theory, Madam.

345
00:15:09,734 --> 00:15:12,567
Somebody put it in there mistakenly.

346
00:15:12,567 --> 00:15:15,300
Well, you can either report
it to the bank and say,

347
00:15:15,300 --> 00:15:19,400
"I don't want any more of this money.
It feels uncomfortable to me."

348
00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:22,166
Or you can say, "Listen,
I'm gonna hold this in my account

349
00:15:22,166 --> 00:15:24,100
and see if they come after it.

350
00:15:24,100 --> 00:15:26,066
See how long it takes 'em to find it."

351
00:15:26,066 --> 00:15:28,533
Right. Or you can do the honest thing.

352
00:15:28,533 --> 00:15:30,266
You pick up the phone
and you call and say,

353
00:15:30,266 --> 00:15:33,266
"This money doesn't belong to me
and I'm not gonna spend it."

354
00:15:33,266 --> 00:15:37,100
Similarly, even though
the money was unsolicited

355
00:15:37,100 --> 00:15:39,100
your friend was a user.

356
00:15:39,100 --> 00:15:40,400
I disagree.

357
00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:42,467
Your friend was a user.

358
00:15:42,467 --> 00:15:44,667
She started out by saying,

359
00:15:44,667 --> 00:15:47,567
"People use these online websites

360
00:15:47,567 --> 00:15:50,367
for prisoners because they want stuff."

361
00:15:50,367 --> 00:15:51,767
Is that what she said in the beginning?

362
00:15:51,767 --> 00:15:54,500
I also said I took myself off of it.
I didn't put myself on it.

363
00:15:54,500 --> 00:15:57,033
Just a second.
Whether you did or did not,

364
00:15:57,033 --> 00:15:59,600
I don't know,
but you certainly benefited from it.

365
00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:01,266
- How?
- You took his money.

366
00:16:01,266 --> 00:16:05,867
Somebody that you met,
you took, according to now you

367
00:16:05,867 --> 00:16:09,166
who you said...
$50 twice is what he sent.

368
00:16:09,166 --> 00:16:11,066
Now your friend says, "Oh no..."

369
00:16:11,066 --> 00:16:12,667
This is after.
Just a sec.

370
00:16:12,667 --> 00:16:14,533
I know exactly what you said, Madam.

371
00:16:14,533 --> 00:16:15,834
I know exactly what you said.

372
00:16:15,834 --> 00:16:18,233
You said, "No, that was after the $2,600."

373
00:16:18,233 --> 00:16:21,100
But for somebody who says,
"I wouldn't wanna be in that site

374
00:16:21,100 --> 00:16:24,033
because other people were using that site

375
00:16:24,033 --> 00:16:26,433
to get people to give them things

376
00:16:26,433 --> 00:16:28,500
and I took myself off that site."

377
00:16:28,500 --> 00:16:31,066
Well, there's no further reason
for you to stay on the site.

378
00:16:31,066 --> 00:16:32,400
You had your sucker.

379
00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:33,633
- No.
- No, no.

380
00:16:33,633 --> 00:16:35,233
- Hold on.
- This is after she came out of jail.

381
00:16:35,233 --> 00:16:37,867
It took three, three years
for me to ask him for anything.

382
00:16:37,867 --> 00:16:40,433
So if I was gonna use him,
it would've been the entire time

383
00:16:40,433 --> 00:16:44,100
I stopped having communication with him
because he was tracking my iPhone.

384
00:16:44,100 --> 00:16:46,700
He was constantly blowing up my phone.

385
00:16:46,700 --> 00:16:50,266
He wanted to have me do
inappropriate sexual things to him.

386
00:16:50,967 --> 00:16:52,200
He became a weirdo.

387
00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:54,233
- He sent me an email...
- Madam. Madam,

388
00:16:54,233 --> 00:16:56,967
I have to tell you something.
It takes one to no one.

389
00:16:57,467 --> 00:16:59,033
It takes a weirdo to know a weirdo.

390
00:16:59,033 --> 00:17:00,767
No.
If you are in prison...

391
00:17:00,767 --> 00:17:03,166
- No, no.
- ...to me not. Maybe not to you.

392
00:17:03,166 --> 00:17:05,500
- The things that he asked...
- Sit. Sit.

393
00:17:05,500 --> 00:17:08,433
If you are in prison, a woman in prison.

394
00:17:08,433 --> 00:17:12,700
You said the women in prison go on
this line so that people...

395
00:17:12,700 --> 00:17:13,667
"weirdos."

396
00:17:14,500 --> 00:17:16,500
I mean I have a very large family.

397
00:17:16,500 --> 00:17:19,867
Really large, large extended family.

398
00:17:19,867 --> 00:17:23,467
I don't know one guy that cold Turkey

399
00:17:23,467 --> 00:17:26,700
goes on a prison website to get a pen pal.

400
00:17:26,700 --> 00:17:29,133
I don't know. I'm sure that
there are people that do that.

401
00:17:29,133 --> 00:17:31,333
{\an8}But the people that do that

402
00:17:31,333 --> 00:17:34,433
{\an8}are sort of the same people in my mind,

403
00:17:34,433 --> 00:17:37,266
and I know it's a old mind

404
00:17:37,266 --> 00:17:41,567
are the same sort of people
that have themselves shot out of a cannon

405
00:17:41,567 --> 00:17:46,500
or will jump off a ninth story building
with a parachute and see if it works.

406
00:17:46,500 --> 00:17:48,500
A little bit crazy.

407
00:17:48,500 --> 00:17:50,000
A little bit, you know?

408
00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:54,066
Right. Even when you marry somebody
who's doing a life term in prison,

409
00:17:54,066 --> 00:17:56,567
I think it's sort of an interesting story.

410
00:17:56,567 --> 00:17:59,367
I wouldn't recommend it
for my granddaughter.

411
00:17:59,367 --> 00:18:04,934
So the fact that you did
a substantial stint in prison

412
00:18:04,934 --> 00:18:08,367
leaving a small daughter
who was taken care of by whom?

413
00:18:08,367 --> 00:18:09,433
Her father.

414
00:18:09,433 --> 00:18:12,300
By her father.
Still taken care of by her father?

415
00:18:12,300 --> 00:18:14,767
- Yes.
- So you have a place in your life

416
00:18:14,767 --> 00:18:18,066
that's sad that she's not with you

417
00:18:18,066 --> 00:18:20,767
but it gives you the ability to create

418
00:18:20,767 --> 00:18:25,467
a life for yourself because you're free
so you can create a life for yourself.

419
00:18:25,467 --> 00:18:28,133
This man says,
"I was a very nice man.

420
00:18:28,133 --> 00:18:32,433
I made you more comfortable
while you were in jail,

421
00:18:32,433 --> 00:18:33,667
a little more comfortable.

422
00:18:33,667 --> 00:18:36,133
And when you got out of jail,
I also sent you money."

423
00:18:36,133 --> 00:18:39,633
Now, if you are telling me,
and your friend is suggesting,

424
00:18:39,633 --> 00:18:43,700
that he wanted some sort
of a quirky quid pro quo,

425
00:18:43,700 --> 00:18:45,567
that's a reason to cut him off.

426
00:18:45,567 --> 00:18:48,100
It's not a reason not to pay him back!

427
00:18:48,100 --> 00:18:50,500
Judgment for the Plaintiff
for the amount of $2,600.

428
00:18:50,500 --> 00:18:52,767
We are finished.
This court is adjourned.

429
00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:54,667
We were just friends.

430
00:18:54,667 --> 00:18:56,800
You know, she just said
a lot of things that weren't true.

431
00:18:56,800 --> 00:18:59,000
Like I never asked anything from her.

432
00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:00,467
I mean I thought he was lonely.

433
00:19:00,467 --> 00:19:02,700
He goes on vacations by himself.
He has no friends.

434
00:19:02,700 --> 00:19:05,600
I didn't keep cash apping
after I was blocked and stuff.

435
00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:09,400
I thought he wanted a friend and he was
trying to buy my friendship, obviously.

436
00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:12,567
No reason, she's just making stuff up.
Character assassination.

437
00:19:12,567 --> 00:19:15,100
Right after
my release from prison.

438
00:19:15,100 --> 00:19:16,600
Be careful who you loan money to.

439
00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:18,133
Don't get a pen pal.

440
00:19:18,934 --> 00:19:20,433
No more prison pen pals.

441
00:19:21,166 --> 00:19:23,333
So this is something
they don't teach in law school.

442
00:19:23,333 --> 00:19:24,700
I'm ready.

443
00:19:24,700 --> 00:19:29,200
If something doesn't make sense
to an otherwise sensible person,

444
00:19:30,033 --> 00:19:32,066
you have to know there's
a gimmick attached.

445
00:19:32,066 --> 00:19:33,533
Mm-hmm.
You know,

446
00:19:33,533 --> 00:19:36,333
if something walks like a duck
quacks like a duck, it's a duck.

447
00:19:36,333 --> 00:19:38,433
Yep.
- Now it may be a mongoose,

448
00:19:38,433 --> 00:19:41,433
but you'd be pretty safe and say,

449
00:19:41,433 --> 00:19:43,166
"You know, walks like a duck,
talks like a duck.

450
00:19:43,166 --> 00:19:45,300
So it's, it's not a duck,
it's a mongoose."

451
00:19:45,300 --> 00:19:49,233
But if you come from a...
a relatively simple background...

452
00:19:49,233 --> 00:19:51,533
- Mm-hmm.
- ...and you know a lot of people,

453
00:19:51,533 --> 00:19:55,233
and I... you don't know anybody
who's pen pals with a prisoner.

454
00:19:55,233 --> 00:19:57,633
There are a lot of people
because they're lonely people.

455
00:19:57,633 --> 00:20:01,500
People in prison are lonely,
and there are sometimes lonely women,

456
00:20:01,500 --> 00:20:04,300
who start to communicate
even just from a...

457
00:20:04,900 --> 00:20:06,900
a sympathetic good Samaritan...

458
00:20:06,900 --> 00:20:09,266
- Sure.
- ...kind of coming from that direction.

459
00:20:09,266 --> 00:20:12,767
People should know that
if a stranger is giving you money

460
00:20:13,367 --> 00:20:16,767
under those circumstances
there's gotta be a catch there someplace.

461
00:20:16,767 --> 00:20:19,000
I mean, I know my brain stems
from your brain,

462
00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:20,900
so maybe we're just on
the same track here,

463
00:20:20,900 --> 00:20:23,767
but I would never accept money
from someone who's seemingly

464
00:20:23,767 --> 00:20:26,767
just giving it to me because
there's always a string,

465
00:20:26,767 --> 00:20:29,767
there's always an attachment,
even from people that you know.

466
00:20:29,767 --> 00:20:33,166
But definitely with strangers,
there's strings.

467
00:20:33,166 --> 00:20:35,400
Otherwise, why are they giving you
the money in the first place?

468
00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:37,467
- Right. Potentially...
- I think she knew what she was doing,

469
00:20:37,467 --> 00:20:41,300
and even if she didn't sign herself up,
even if we take her at her word on that,

470
00:20:41,300 --> 00:20:44,967
she knew what the people
on that site were about.

471
00:20:44,967 --> 00:20:47,033
Oh well she was very clear.

472
00:20:47,033 --> 00:20:49,633
Yep.
- She knew that people in prison

473
00:20:49,633 --> 00:20:52,700
were going to be entitled
to get stimulus checks,

474
00:20:52,700 --> 00:20:54,767
but they were to be directed
to the prison

475
00:20:54,767 --> 00:20:58,166
because the prison would
take out 75% of those checks,

476
00:20:58,166 --> 00:21:01,033
which would cover your care.

477
00:21:01,033 --> 00:21:04,967
The government's still taking care of you
but they're not taking care of you twice.

478
00:21:04,967 --> 00:21:07,033
- Yes. So basically the government...
- Twice.

479
00:21:07,033 --> 00:21:08,767
- ...paying twice for you.
- Twice!

480
00:21:08,767 --> 00:21:12,300
And so in order not to do that,
she concocted this scheme...

481
00:21:12,300 --> 00:21:14,367
Found someone who would be OK with...

482
00:21:14,367 --> 00:21:16,467
With sending it to them.
- Mm-hmm.

483
00:21:16,467 --> 00:21:21,233
And I'm sure that didn't come to her
genius head alone.

484
00:21:21,233 --> 00:21:26,000
Somebody in prison said, "This is
what you do in order not to keep the 75%."

485
00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:27,633
- Mm-hmm.
- If somebody else do it,

486
00:21:27,633 --> 00:21:30,934
your girlfriend your sister, your mother,
whoever it is.

487
00:21:30,934 --> 00:21:33,567
If there's a system,
people will find a way around it

488
00:21:33,567 --> 00:21:35,600
- to benefit themselves more.
- Yeah.

489
00:21:37,300 --> 00:21:40,767
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