A Traffic Appeal that Revealed an Identity Theft: The Hartwood Case
Identity theft cases are probably one of the worst kinds of incidents that can bring unnecessary hassles in your life! Unfortunately, identity theft cases are getting increasingly common, and that has become a major concern for us, as well as our clients.
Not many days back, we received a call from a Mr. Hartwood, claiming that he had received citations for driving with a suspended license and a moving violation. He also added that he hasn’t been cited or booked in his 10 long years of driving on the streets of Pennsylvania!
Our knowledgeable Pittsburgh criminal lawyers immediately understood that something was wrong and accepted the case. What happened next was really shocking.
An Overview of the Incident
So, this is how the event went down.
A few days before we received the call from Mr. Hartwood, the cops pulled over a man for a moving violation. However, the stranger was asked about his credentials, and he provided the cops with another person’s (our client’s) name and other credentials.
As a result, our client, who was totally unaware of this whole situation, received messages from PennDOT with a moving violation and a driving with a suspended license charge. Confused and overwhelmed, Mr. Hartwood called our firm and asked for the assistance of a Pittsburgh criminal lawyer. He also told us that he suspected identity theft. He also insisted he had no connections whatsoever with the actual accused.
How Did We Proceed?
Identity theft cases are very sensitive, and without proper legal help, it doesn’t take much time for an innocent person to turn into a suspect! Our expert Pittsburgh criminal lawyers knew this and decided to move accordingly.
At first, we reviewed each and every aspect of this case and decided to expedite our client’s appeal to the traffic court. Mr. Hartwood, very naturally, was worried about giving details of his stolen identity in front of the judge, as he thought doing that might turn the case against him! But our Pittsburgh criminal lawyers were there to assist him.
And since our expert legal professionals are aware of the intricacies of such cases, they know when and how to appeal so that the outcome rules in our client’s favor. So, our knowledgeable professionals came into a negotiation with the prosecution, which resulted in us securing a plea bargain. This plea bargain meant that Mr. Hartwood had to pay a simple fine, and that would dismiss the entire case.
This dismissal was something that our client did not expect in his wildest dreams! For the kind of charges that he was levied with, he expected that he had to pay for someone else’s sin! However, what he didn’t realize was that our experienced lawyers handle such cases on a daily basis and know what to do to protect our clients’ rights.
Added to this, what eased our client the most was the fact that his driving privileges were retained! The additional year-long license suspension would have disrupted his job-life, which would bring about further complications, as Mr. Hartwood was the only earning member of his family.
However, things turned out pretty well for our client. And after the case got settled, he called our firm to thank our Pittsburgh criminal lawyers for saving his reputation, as well as his driving license! So, if you have been the victim of identity theft, don’t sit back and dial 844.PITT.DUI or drop a mail at sean@seanloguelaw.com to schedule an appointment ASAP.