Attention All Attorneys

[seventieschile']

I have recently applied for a position as a post forwarder on monster.com for a European company I'll refer to as Company C. The position entails receiving packages from warehouses based in the United States and forwarding them to individuals living outside the USA. My payment is fifty dollars per package that I forward. I was very excited about earning an additional income at first, but now I am feeling very skeptical.
Within a week I have received over 6,000 dollars worth of computer hardware and software. I have never interviewed or spoken with any employee of Company C aside from email communication and all the packages have me listed as the buyer.
At first I thought that maybe these were stolen goods, I mean why in the hell would u pay someone fifty bux to forward a package that Company C can easily send themselves. Also, sending these packages to me certainly must cause a huge delay.
This is exactly how the process works: I receive a package. Fill out and send Company C a visual damage report. I am then forwarded postage money needed to re-send the item. After sending the item I fill out another report then I receive a check for 50 dollars per package at the end of the month.
I have saved the advertisement for the position in word pad and kept all email exchanges between myself and this company.
My questions are is this legit. Is it even legal? And if not, can I be held responsible?

 

[seventieschile']

sorry guys. i accidentally hit enter twice. now i have two threads on the same issue. is there any way i can delete a thread?

 

[HULKSTER]

You are being used like a whore. Why wouldn't these assholes just directly send the items/packages themselves? So that it is you, NOT THEM, who will take the fall if any of the packages are intercepted, for they will have been shipped BY YOU! $50 per package? Is that what's it's worth to you to get possible jail time?

 

[seventieschile']

A little more in depth please. How would u think this process works. I mean if something illegal is being done what is it? The receipts on the packages are completely legit.

 

[HULKSTER]

A little more in depth please. How would u think this process works. I mean if something illegal is being done what is it? The receipts on the packages are completely legit.

Yeah, the receipts are legit, but what about the items being shipped? How do you truly know it's not stolen property? I would start asking questions ASAP, and if they are vague, get the fuck out of there.

 

[duritz]

they could be stolen, they could have some sort of highly illegal information on the hard drive...military intelligence, kiddie porn or something like that... or there could be something besides computer parts housed in the computers... drugs or something.

 

[Baby Gorilla]

Hard call....

Legally, it all looks legit. There's nothing illegal about what you are doing. However, you have questions about it all. Do you have the right to inspect the contents of the packages? Since you are re-shipping, there should be no problems if you do that.

The loophole that prosecutors use is that being empty-headed doesn't seem to work as a defense.

Yes, a guy duped into doing something illegal via 100% legitimate appearances might not get convicted by a jury, but a lot will depend on if a reasonable person thinks some questions should be asked.

So, if you have suspicions, you ask the guy you work for if you can inspect the contents of the package or if you are doing anything illegal (meaning participating in the shipment of illegal goods). He could lie to you, and that's not much help, but if he admits it's illegal stuff or evades the question, you have your answer and continued participation make it criminal on your part.

This is a damned if you do, damned if you don't issue. It's sweet to make $50 easy money like this on each package. It may be totally legit too. However, asking questions could end the deal even though you might not be in any real legal risks....especially if the guy gave you a great BS story about how legit it was and it sounded perfectly reasonable.

After all, if you use FedEx to ship illegal drugs, will the FedEx courier go to jail because he handled the package? No. FedEx doesn't go opening or searching packages. They just do as the shipper requests.

However, in a lot of places, you're a criminal for "participation" which is so broadly defined, I don't doubt they could nail a perp's mother becuase she gave him birth in the first place.

 

[seventieschile']

I have opened one of the packages and found the contenets to be exactly what the receipt has stated which was a brand new laptop. Nothing looked suspicious at all. My next question is, if this shit is somehow illegal, what do I do with all these packages I have already? Please say keep them...

 

[duritz]

think of it this way... u have 5 computers worth about $10k. You can either A keep shipping them and get $50 each. B. stop shipping them and send them back to the company. or C. Keep the computers and sell them and have some nice cash. It would take u 200 shipments to reach $10k, so if ya can't get in trouble I would keep them and give one to your good buddy duritz for free