Theft and Mail Fraud of Rent Payments

[Ben Rishwain]

Hello there!

This week it was confirmed that mail had been stolen earlier this month which included rental payments. At least 7 payments are missing and 2 payments have been confirmed cashed by somebody who was not authorized to cash them. Mail fraud. I’m curious to know what recourse there is to chase this person down and/or get the money back since it was fraudulently cashed.

[Nathan Gesner]

@Ben Rishwain if the money didn't make it into your hands, it hasn't been paid. Unless it was stolen out of a secured mailbox on your property, I don't see how it's your problem any more than a check that was lost enroute or that blew out of a Tenant's hand and fell into a fire (yes, I've heard this one).

@Billy Smith if your time is worth $20 an hour and you burn a gallon gas, it's costing you $25 to collect eight rent payments. That's approximately $4 per rent payment. Online payments can be free. Maybe this is your private time to listen to podcasts and so it carries more value but it's not going to scale very well.