{"id":10216,"date":"2019-06-20T17:36:27","date_gmt":"2019-06-20T17:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/?p=10216"},"modified":"2019-06-20T17:36:32","modified_gmt":"2019-06-20T17:36:32","slug":"can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Can I go to jail for not paying my debts?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The answer, fortunately, is no.\u00a0 There is no longer such thing in the U.S. (nor in most civilized countries) as debtors’ prison.<\/p>\n

So why even mention the possibility?\u00a0 Because debt collectors are getting more aggressive than ever and willing to cross lines without a second thought<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So if a debt collector threatens you with the possibility of arrest or jail time, don’t believe the hype.\u00a0 (And it wouldn’t hurt to write down or record any such threat.)<\/p>\n

The only way you could possibly go to jail–and I hesitate to even raise this as I don’t wish to unduly cause alarm or irrational fear of the bankruptcy process–is if you commit fraud in the context of bankruptcy.\u00a0 But even if there were an allegation of fraud by a creditor, it’s a difficult allegation to prove, the process takes a while, would be defended with the help of an attorney and, even in a worst case outcome, wouldn’t necessarily mean jail time.<\/p>\n

The key distinction is that debts and failure to pay them is a “civil” action which, if necessary, is dealt with in civil court. \u00a0Even most fraud connected with loans is considered civil fraud, and does not have criminal penalties (although fraud, if proven, could make the debt non-dischargeable). For jail time, there must be a “criminal” charge against you and the hearing would be in a criminal court.\u00a0 (And you would likely hire an attorney specializing in criminal law to defend you.)<\/p>\n

All of which is to say, debt collection and bankruptcy are viewed as financial problems to be resolved by a set process.\u00a0 They don’t carry the moral stigma that people often attach to criminal acts.\u00a0 And as well they shouldn’t.\u00a0 Because at various times people in our society need debt relief and need bankruptcy help.\u00a0 Without that, we’d be spending a lot of government money on debtors’ prisons.\u00a0 And nobody wants that.<\/p>\n

If you’re seeking help with debt collectors and have questions about the bankruptcy process in New York, please contact me for a free initial consultation.<\/p>\n

Contact Bruce Weiner, Esq.<\/a><\/h2>\n

EMAIL Bruce Weiner<\/a><\/strong>
\nPhone<\/strong>
\n(718) 855-6840 (Local)
\n(866) 402-8476 (Toll Free)
\nFax<\/strong> (718) 625-1966<\/p>\n

Go to Bankruptcy Lawyer Brooklyn NY <\/b><\/a><\/em>t<\/em>o learn more about Rosenberg Musso & Weiner LLP<\/strong><\/a> and\/or to set up a free consultation.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The answer, fortunately, is no.\u00a0 There is no longer such thing in the U.S. (nor in most civilized countries) as debtors’ prison. So why even mention the possibility?\u00a0 Because debt collectors are getting more aggressive than ever and willing to cross lines without a second thought. So if a debt collector threatens you with the …<\/p>\n

Can I go to jail for not paying my debts?<\/span> Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":""},"categories":[16,7],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCan I go to jail for not paying my debts? - Bankruptcy Lawyer Brooklyn NY<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The answer, fortunately, is no.\u00a0 There is no longer such thing in the U.S. (nor in most civilized countries) as debtors' prison. So why even mention the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can I go to jail for not paying my debts? - Bankruptcy Lawyer Brooklyn NY\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The answer, fortunately, is no.\u00a0 There is no longer such thing in the U.S. (nor in most civilized countries) as debtors' prison. So why even mention the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bankruptcy Attorney in Brooklyn, New York | Rosenberg Musso Weiner\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-20T17:36:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-06-20T17:36:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Maggie Paley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Maggie Paley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Maggie Paley\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#\/schema\/person\/b39cce1b899649fc2a1f7e0067343432\"},\"headline\":\"Can I go to jail for not paying my debts?\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-20T17:36:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-20T17:36:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/\"},\"wordCount\":390,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Bankruptcy\",\"Debt\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/\",\"name\":\"Can I go to jail for not paying my debts? - Bankruptcy Lawyer Brooklyn NY\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-20T17:36:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-20T17:36:32+00:00\",\"description\":\"The answer, fortunately, is no.\u00a0 There is no longer such thing in the U.S. (nor in most civilized countries) as debtors' prison. So why even mention the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Can I go to jail for not paying my debts?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/\",\"name\":\"Bankruptcy Attorney in Brooklyn, New York | Rosenberg Musso Weiner\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Rosenberg, Musso & Weiner, LLP\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/logo.png\",\"width\":124,\"height\":108,\"caption\":\"Rosenberg, Musso & Weiner, LLP\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#\/schema\/person\/b39cce1b899649fc2a1f7e0067343432\",\"name\":\"Maggie Paley\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/09c4e7222a6fefba012bec62846fade7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/09c4e7222a6fefba012bec62846fade7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Maggie Paley\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/author\/maggie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can I go to jail for not paying my debts? - Bankruptcy Lawyer Brooklyn NY","description":"The answer, fortunately, is no.\u00a0 There is no longer such thing in the U.S. (nor in most civilized countries) as debtors' prison. So why even mention the","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can I go to jail for not paying my debts? - Bankruptcy Lawyer Brooklyn NY","og_description":"The answer, fortunately, is no.\u00a0 There is no longer such thing in the U.S. (nor in most civilized countries) as debtors' prison. So why even mention the","og_url":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/","og_site_name":"Bankruptcy Attorney in Brooklyn, New York | Rosenberg Musso Weiner","article_published_time":"2019-06-20T17:36:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-06-20T17:36:32+00:00","author":"Maggie Paley","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Maggie Paley","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/"},"author":{"name":"Maggie Paley","@id":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#\/schema\/person\/b39cce1b899649fc2a1f7e0067343432"},"headline":"Can I go to jail for not paying my debts?","datePublished":"2019-06-20T17:36:27+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-20T17:36:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/"},"wordCount":390,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Bankruptcy","Debt"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/","url":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/","name":"Can I go to jail for not paying my debts? - Bankruptcy Lawyer Brooklyn NY","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-06-20T17:36:27+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-20T17:36:32+00:00","description":"The answer, fortunately, is no.\u00a0 There is no longer such thing in the U.S. (nor in most civilized countries) as debtors' prison. So why even mention the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/can-i-go-to-jail-for-not-paying-my-debts-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can I go to jail for not paying my debts?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/","name":"Bankruptcy Attorney in Brooklyn, New York | Rosenberg Musso Weiner","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#organization","name":"Rosenberg, Musso & Weiner, LLP","url":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/logo.png","width":124,"height":108,"caption":"Rosenberg, Musso & Weiner, LLP"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#\/schema\/person\/b39cce1b899649fc2a1f7e0067343432","name":"Maggie Paley","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/09c4e7222a6fefba012bec62846fade7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/09c4e7222a6fefba012bec62846fade7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Maggie Paley"},"url":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/author\/maggie\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10216"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10216"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10221,"href":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10216\/revisions\/10221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}