Is a forged signature ever legal?

[JoeBoo444]

I cosigned a loan for a business partner. He later forged my signature on several different loans which I did not know about. He deposited the money into an account that I was an authorized user on but never touched. Then he paid me some money he owed me from those loans which I thought was from the original loan that I did sign for. After reporting to the bank that he forged the signatures on the latter loans, the bank said that if he gave me even any part of the money that I am now responsible for every loan that he forged my signature on. Is that legal?

[buildersmate]

There has to be more to this.
By co-signing the original loan, to what did you think you were committing? The correct answer has surely to be that you were acting as a guarantor in the event that he defaulted.
So why would you expect to be paid ANY money from any source? What did you think you were being paid for? - the loan was from the bank not from you - you were not owed money for anything.
The bank therefore presumably considers that you are part of a scheme to obtain pecuniary advantage.

[JoeBoo444]

He was my employer at the time and he had not paid me for any services for about 6 months. He said if he got that loan to hold over the business then he could make it all back and pay me my wages. But then after that he went and took out more loans and forged my signature. The original loan I know I am responsible for bc I did sign it. But the ones after that that i didn't. Can they hold me responsible for those as well?

[themas]

Still unclear! Are you saying the money he gave you was all your unpaid wages? If it was, then I assume it will appear as such in the books & that tax & NI were paid on it. If that is the case, then you presumably can prove to the bank that the money you received was only wages & I don't see how they can then argue that you are liable for the loans where your signature was forged.

[buildersmate]

Are you adamant that you were an employee and you can prove it (payslips, P60 for instance)? If so, in what capacity did you co-sign the 1st loan agreement?
In the first question you wrote that you were a 'business partner'. With these ambiguities, I am sure you can see why the bank is asking all these questions of you.
Happy to provide more guidance following answers to Themas and the above questions.

[JoeBoo444]

Thanks for your replies. Yes, even at that time I was unsure of our relationship. He pretty much scammed me, promising me that if I helped him with his business he would take care of me. He was a friend from high school and a pastor of a church. I had took that as he would be a man of his word. After I signed the first loan, he gave me some money because he hadn't given me anything for working with him for 6 months. I did not pay taxes on it bc I figured that it would not be considered income until the loan was paid back. You don't have to pay taxes on a loan. And since my name was on that first loan that I did sign that is what I considered it. But it doesn't give him the right to go out and take out 3 other loans and forge my signature on it and not pay them back. I do have witnesses that he said that those loans "did not require my signature". Since I now have the documents with my forged signature on it. He has changed his story to " I gave him permission to forge my signatures on it'. What do you think? Thanks for your info. You really sound very knowledgeable about the subject.

[JoeBoo444]

Again, I know that I am responsible for that first loan that I did sign. And that is what I thought he had given me money from. How they really hold me responsible for 3 other loans that he forged my signature on. If I have witnesses of what he said why don't these banks even want to hear from them. Why is it so easy for someone to get money with someone else's info but so hard for a vistim of fraud to even get his case heard?

[Spoiled33]

forged signatures should never be passed.

i once forged my father signature on a cheque for ma uni fees ..it went thru :)

but really it shouldnt have......should i go to bed now :)

[fredpuli47]

How much money have you had out, to you, as compared to the amount of the original loan for which you accept you cosigned.Is it less than that original loan?

[JoeBoo444]

The original loan was 25K and he gave me 8K for working with him for 6 months. After that he tooks out 3 more loans for another 150k which were all forged.

[Barmaid]

No it is not legal. OK, you are up for the first loan, but the others, you are not. You really need to seek legal advice because loans amounting to �150k are not going to be easy to make go away. You are going to need good legal advice, witnesses and possibly the services of a handwriting expert.

This is known as "fraud" and there is no reason why you should be liable for loans about which you knew nothing.

[beso]

You are certainly not responsible for the later loans. However this whole thing sound pretty dodgey and you may come into some problems for receiving money for undeclared income unless this was properly declared in your income tax returns.

[themas]

Follow Barmaid's advice - she's a barrister & knows what she's talking about!

You may well need sworn statements (either as affidavits or statutory declarations) from the witnesses confirming what was said.

The loan you signed for went to an account you were an authorised user of. That means you could sign cheques on it, I suppose. That, & the fact that you were asked to sign the loan seem to indicate you were not an employee but a business partner (your first description). Was there any formal partnership documentation? Was there a trading name? Was the loan given to the partnership (i.e. made out to the trading name)? If not, was it given to both of you by name? Were the loans where your signature was forged made out in the same way? Were those loans paid into the same bank account as the first one? If so, did you realise the money was there &, if you did, what did you do about it?

These are some of the questions that will come up in trying to sort this out for you, so be prepared with answers before you see a solicitor.