This is a story that shouldn't exist. A tale of fraud with familial connections that you're never supposed to doubt in this world. Not only did a mother take advantage of her son, she then tried to force him to cover for it.
While his sister had a great wedding, it turns out it was funded by a credit card taken out in his name by his mother. His wife has shared the tale with Reddit, finding some help after unloading all of her shock online.
The real story begins a few months after the sister — sister-in-law to the original poster, the man's wife — was married and her parents helped pay for it, possibly costing upwards of $20,000.
Yesterday, my husband gets a letter in the mail from a collection company. It seems like it can’t be right because they say he owed about $8,000 on a credit card he’s never seen before. He called their number and the company said they would cut him a deal and he’d only have to pay $5,000. He thought it was a scam so he hung up. He then called the actual credit card company and found out the card was real and it was in his name but it hadn’t been paid for several months.
After finding out that the credit card bill was real, he also found out that the card was registered to his parent's address. Naturally, this prompted him to give them a call.
When he said he would just have to report it as theft to the police he said his mother’s demeanor changed completely, telling him he shouldn’t go to the police and should just take the $5,000 off to pay it off.
She then tried to blame it on his wife, calling it the result of a "secret shopping habit." Then the truth came out.
After some pressing, his mother came clean:
She finally confessed to taking the credit card out in his name back in January “but only to pay for the wedding”. You see, she wanted her daughter to have her dream wedding but knew they couldn’t afford it. My MiL couldn’t afford it all either, so they took a credit card out in my husband’s name so that they could make the dream wedding happen.
She asked him just to pay the money and don't call the police.
But after some help from folks on Reddit, he did go to the police and filed a report on the identity theft.
One person in particular was very helpful:
CPA and fraud examiner here. Whatever you do, DO NOT pay ANYTHING towards this debt! Don't listen if the credit card company wants to offer you a "deal", they are not looking out for you and don't care your information was stolen, they just want their money...
For many, the actions of the OP's mother-in-law were unforgivable and they wanted to make sure the idea of "family" didn't get in the way of what was right. Even if you feel bad for her, this is a reminder of what the mother had done to her son.
Along with the CPA, a former police officer and debt collector chimed in with more details on why going to the police is so important.
Some used the moment to share their own similar situations, this one giving a look at what could happen if you didn't go to file a police report.
The big question posed by many on Reddit was where the rest of the money came from for the wedding. And yes, it's not impossible that they could cover those costs themselves.
If the mother was willing to use one child for cash, would she do it for another without telling them?
That's what remains to be seen.
Others, while still firmly on the side of the husband and wife, shared the reality of the situation. It's the type of situation nobody wants to face.
