I rented out a car (minibus), the person paid for six months, then paid intermittently, and now has completely disappeared. The phone is not answering, and the car is also gone. I suspect that I fell victim to a scammer, and that my car is either far abroad or has been sold for parts.
The police refuse to initiate a case, saying it is a civil matter. But isn’t the fact that I became a victim of a scammer grounds for initiating a criminal case? How can I ensure that my report is accepted and that they start searching for this scammer? Reader of the portal bb.lv
Answers lawyer Valters Bergs:
– The initial assessment made by the police ("civil dispute") is often applied automatically; however, it is not decisive. The refusal must be appealed to the prosecutor's office, as it is the prosecutor's office that oversees the legality of the police's actions.
In the situation described by the reader, one can see signs of several possible types of criminal offenses:
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Theft (Article 179 of the Criminal Law): a person legally obtained property (under a rental agreement) but then does not return this property and acts as if it belonged to him. This qualifies as theft.
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Fraud (Article 177 of the Criminal Law): a person did not intend to pay for the rented property or did not plan to return it to the owner, resorting to deception.
According to Article 369 of the Criminal Procedure Law, the police are obliged to accept any report concerning the possible commission of a criminal offense. According to Article 370 of the Criminal Procedure Law, the police are obliged to initiate a criminal case if there are grounds to believe that a criminal offense has been committed.
