Legal Ramifications if I Lie for a Tenant?

[Russell Caraotta]

A tenant has asked me to write a letter threatening eviction (even though he is current with payments) so that he can use it in order to obtain a hardship loan against his 401K in order to clear up some unexpected bills. He has a small 401K already so the hardship route is his only option. He is a good tenant, pays on-time for the most part and includes late fees if tardy. Has a steady job with an international company but the company has its own challenges and has reduced staff from 1700 to 400.

I would like to oblige but am concerned about my risks and legal consequences if this gets discovered.

Looking for input. Many thanks.

[Patricia Steiner]

It's called fraud...so while your tenant will have a chance to catch-up on those "unexpected bills" you can EXPECT a penalty of up to $1,000,000 (yep, 6 zeros) and a sentence up to 30 years.  It's not that it's a "liar, liar pants on fire" sort of thing but it's fraud against a financial institution - not to mention that Mr. Wonderful Tenant could also sue you for false eviction should he become unhappy with you at some point.  

If it were me, I would have thanked him for the wonderful opportunity to commit fraud on his behalf but that dang integrity just keeps getting in my way.  I wouldn't renew his lease either...that whole sociopath next door thing.

RUN!